The common mistake on Social Networks: Social Fatigue

Do not make the tragic mistake that most people make on the Social Networks: constantly talking about them self and producing a social fatigue.

Their products, their contest, their offers and their promotions.

social-fatigue

And lets be sincere:

When was the last time you logged into Facebook to check if your favorite soap was on sale?

Or that you where so happy that you can buy 2 sockets at the price of 1 that you decided to share the pure joy with your friends?

Or that you tough: Wow! this is original! A Facebook contest! I never saw something like this before!

And the sad truth is that this is what most of the brands are doing…

Great -you’ll say- but then what should I do? Because my competitors are doing contest non stop!

Better. If they make contest non stop they are getting price seekers, not real fans ;-)

Or you think that Apple got those rabid fans with Win-an-iPad contest?

Ok, so this is what you can do:

First, you need to remember that the most people are online for 2 reasons:

They want to be entertained or they want to be informed.

So if you can provide them with one of this two, you’re on the right track.

And if you can share valuable information in an entertaining way, you are ahead of 90% of everybody in this game.

(Of course, if that where so easy we will not be in a computer, but in a TV show!)

That’s why in the next post I’ll tell you 2 simple techniques to share compelling content with your followers (this is getting long enough already, thanks if you made to here!)

What you DO have to do to please your public in social networks

In the last email I told you about the tragic error that the majority of the businesses committed in social networks and how to avoid it, giving priority to the interests of their followers (they are online mainly to be informed and entertained) rather than infinitely glorifying themselves.

content

Now, the whole world cannot produce 24 hour bomb content.

So here are 2 simple tricks for creating interesting and entertaining content:

Both are based on techniques that have been tested again and again on TV and in newspapers and magazines. And they work like a nuclear bazooka.

They revolve around the idea of “Let the light shine on others” (or “You reap what you sow”)

This is, let the light shine on someone else instead of on you and your business. You can choose someone who is already popular with your audience, or someone who is still unknown but has a lot to contribute. And this, apart from creating content that your readers love, has other extra benefits that I will tell you about in a moment.

Technique Nº 1: The Host

The simplest example is the typical interview. There you step aside to allow the light to shine on your guest.

The key here is to have a guest who is interesting to your audience and to have a nice rhythm and format to the interview (be it text, audio, or video).

But let`s say that you don`t have any contacts yet, or you can`t think of anything interesting to ask about (don`t worry, this is easily fixed, in the next email I will explain to you a foolproof method for fun interviews. I’ll give you a hint: it has something to do with telling stories), in that case you have here an even simpler solution:

Technique Nº 2: The best of…

Ok, this is one of my favorites ;-)

For example, let`s say you`re the Community Manager of a clothing line, ok? (change it to your market), the post would be:

“3 fashion tips you can`t miss this week.” And link to the 3 best articles that you find on that topic (with a short paragraph saying why they should read each one).

Do you think your readers could find something like that interesting?

Of course!

If they are as interested in the topic as they are in following a clothing line, surely they are interested in fashion. And you just gifted them with a bunch of quality material, without promoting yourself or asking for anything in exchange! Is that not great?

But the benefits dont stop with the happiness of your readers (and believe me, when you bring them quality content, yours or from someone else, they will come back for more) but includes attracting the linked authors, very likely grateful, and even flattered to be mentioned and they will surely show it to their own public.

So, in summary, you have:

  • Awesome content for your public
  • You strengthen relationships with personalities from your field
  • You attract more Traffic as these personalities promote you

Not bad for a post that you can do with 15 minutes of research, no?