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I think the whole “going viral” thing is really overrated. Yes, some companies have thrived as the result of a huge giveaway or event, but these are the exceptions.
There are some companies out there who promise that your company will “go viral” if you sign-up with them. So as a company, you have a certain tweet or post that gets a ton of hits and then how do you follow that up. When most things go viral, people check it out and then they move on. Again there are always exceptions but this should not be your goal.
Staying Under the Radar
I think people should really consider this approach to social media. There is a balance between being online all the time and being professional. I see a trend where some people are constantly online sharing information of their own and others, but people are starting to wise up to these people and they are figuring out these people could possibly be “fakes”. They have too much free time and they really aren’t working as much as they say they are.
Be a real person, take breaks from social media. Use it as a channel to connect, but make sure you are not an annoying sort of person. Post information that is valuable or have a little fun posting information about sports or entertainment, but leave it to a few comments. Take a professional approach and you will see the value of social media over time. I call this staying under the radar. Imgaine if you had 1,000 mentions in a day on Twitter. Some people do. Would you really spend time and acknowledge all 1,000 people. How realistic is that? Would you want to?
Think of social media as a daily networking event. Try connecting with a few people. Do you really want to connect with every person following you? Aren’t there some days when a networking event is not productive or you just aren’t finding the right people or message you want to communicate. It’s no different on social media. Focus on being professionable and you will see results.
Stay Professional and You Will Be More Sustainable
The best approach to social media is to make it sustainable. To make social media sustainable, you need to do the following:
- Be consistent – Have a daily approach that includes posting information to a blog site and listenting to people online.
- Be specific – Go after a particular niche group or topic. Wouldn’t you rather have 30 people who care about your topic than 10,000 people who like a generic statement you make.
- Be an expert – Know your topic inside and out and people will respect you more and more.
- Build your personal brand and company brand – Talk about your company and connect with others in your profession like marketers. It helps give you a strong brand across different industries. (The reason for this blog site)
Staying under the radar is the approach that most people will not talk about, but I think it will become more popular over time. Take the time to look at the way you use social media and create a plan for the long-term. You will feel much better about your expectations and you will connect with the right people online.
Image courtesy of zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
