EDITOR’S FORUM
Social Circus: 4 First Steps to Get You Going
She sat across the table from me and
By Solomon Daniels Editor-in-Chief
No sense mopping in a rainstorm—
only
do social media if it has a point.
said with a straight face: “We’re going to use Facebook as a marketing tool with our dealers. We’re going to get all our dealers on Facebook.” Well, that’s one I haven’t heard before. “How are you going to pull this off?” I asked. She went on to describe how her company would create materials that showed her retailers exactly how to set up accounts on Facebook and create a marketing framework to benefit their businesses. In addition, how the company would then supply materials to said retailers to promote the company’s brand to the dealers’ fans.
The tactic described by this company at CES is just one more example of how manufacturers and retailers alike are trying to derive real benefit from social networking. There have been many ideas tried—primarily centered on making buying customers out of Facebook friends—that have failed. Just this past year, Gap, Nordstrom, J.C. Penney and GameStop shuttered their storefronts on Facebook. One analyst said, “It was like trying to sell stuff to people while they’re hanging out with their friends at the bar.” So far, we’ve seen two models for marginal success: carry an already strong brand into Facebook and let people find you, á la JL Audio, or invest a good amount of time and effort into staying relevant, e.g., Mobile Edge. But whether successful or not, these examples illustrate the main point: you need to have a point for each social media outreach. Let’s take Facebook and Twitter, for example. There are many “lazy guy” services that will take every post you make on Facebook and Tweet it, or vice-versa. But as a business, you’re not getting anything out of this approach. It’s like buying 200 gooseneck EQs to sell because they were cheap. Each of these services serves a different
purpose. While Twitter has added some community and imagery features over the past couple of years, it still remains largely a “Here’s what’s going on right now” platform. Though Facebook has its new timeline and up- to-the-second scrolling posts from friends, it’s mainly a “Let me share this content with my friends” platform.
10 Mobile Electronics February | March 2012 If I were setting up social networking for my
shop, (and I’m not talking about anything paid at this point), here is what I would do: 1. Start with Facebook. Hash tags notwithstanding, I would not go with Twitter until I had a specific plan for Twitter. Facebook is best for creating a community of interested potential customers with whom I can share content every day. 2. Make a plan to engage on Facebook. The
key word here is engagement. It can’t be a one-way conversation, which means it’s not just about you posting sale items, install pics and other stuff about how great you are. Like the analyst said, people don’t want to be sold to while hanging out. I would make a list of interesting topics around car audio or cars, in general, and I would post these as well as my stuff. Examples: • Link to new car pictorials and ask the audience what they think of the car • Link to videos on YouTube describing stand-out installs at car shows • Post a “Product of the Week” describing and getting feedback on a particular product • Be personal—How could Sanchez miss that throw? Was that a buzzer-beater, or what? 3. Get those “Likes” up! Do whatever it takes to build this number as quickly as possible. While it’s meant to be an indicator of the level of interest in your business, the “Like” count has unfortunately taken on the moniker of how successful—or unsuccessful—your business must be. If you talk a big game about business and only have 12 Likes, you lose all credibility for many people. It’s sad and unfair, but perception is reality. Do a joint in-store/on-line contest to get a percentage off, a contest entry or a free doodad when customers like your page. 4. Post at least four times per week, if not
more. Encourage responses from your fans. And always respond to questions quickly. Contrary to popular (at least today) belief,
you don’t need a flashy Facebook page. You just need one that shows you’re involved. Content is more important than pictures here. Show that your store has personality, and you will build rapport. Rapport leads to trust in your expertise, and that’s 70 percent of the journey through your front doors. ■
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