Social Media
There are brands and companies that use social media the same way they use traditional media: as soapboxes for their ads, sales pitches, and other marketing materials. They gauge their social media success by looking at numbers: how many fans or followers they amass, and how many people they reach. Simply put, they are missing the point. The power of social media lies in conversation and engagement:
In other words, the power of social media doesn’t lie in the ability to broadcast your message, but in the opportunity to create conversations around and about your brand.
How do you do this? We can go on for days on this topic, but we’ll share three ways here.
By providing excellent customer support on social media, you can many of your regular customers, and maybe even your critics, into brand advocates. These advocates will talk about you and recommend you to family, friends, and anybody who’d care to listen. You definitely want them talking about you.
While it may be harder to incite their passion for your brand (and if you’re lucky, turn them into advocates), influencers can get more people talking about you, helping expand your reach, and potentially increasing your customer base.
There’s no set formula to becoming a thought leader, but we think you can follow this one guideline: share relevant, credible content. Share your knowledge, and show how you apply your ideas to real life situations. Discuss things that are important in your chosen field.
Some will disagree with you, but that’s a good thing – it proves that people are listening to you, and that means you’re one step closer to becoming a thought leader. Just remember – don’t ever claim to be one.
Bradley Yeater is the former Marketing Manager at GaggleAMP.
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