Using social media begins with Marketing 101

The way I see it LinkedIn is for business, Facebook is for personal things, and Twitter is for the younger crowd. Is this the right way to think about these sites?

Figuring It Out

Dear Figuring It Out:

My short answer is that all the sites are for whatever you make them. Even LinkedIn can be used for very personal reasons when it comes down to the groups and even some of the LinkedIn Answers topics.

If you have the mindset that Facebook is all about personal stuff then you miss the huge opportunity that Facebook has for businesses. If you look at Twitter as a tool for the younger crowd then you miss out on the all the business information, travel advice, and any other information that would be very pertinent to your life.

Holding a fixed mindset about a tool can cause a very myopic view of how to use it.

Instead of trying to categorize the social media tools and then decide what tools you should use, a better approach would be to identify your objective, your target markets, and then the tools become the tactics to reach your goals. Yes, it does sound like Marketing 101, and it really is.

If you are in business, you know the market that you are trying to reach. Each tool has a different demographic and it is more important to identify if the demographic that you are looking for is using the social media tool.

I know the next question you will have is,"Well how exactly do you do that?

The first step is to identify if the demographic is even there, so usually I use the page that they have set up for potential advertisers. In some cases the information can also be found on a page that is set up for the press. I will give you one more hint on where to find the information, usually it is hiding in the links at the bottom that you have probably ignored up until now.

Matching demographics from each site to your target audience will give you a clear understanding of which social media sites you need to have a presence on.

Once you have decided which sites have the right audience the next thing that becomes critical is getting people to notice you. Many people I speak with have the misconception that people are going to find them, and really it is the other way around, you need to find your audience.

To find the audience you need to do two things:

1. Figure out what information you can provide your audience that they really want. If you are selling soap, people don't need or want information on how to use your product. Think about the Unilever is a great example, they over two product lines Axe for Men, and Dove for Women. Both lines sell an idea, a lifestyle, and they speak to the lifestyle not the soap to engage an audience.

2. Begin to find people in your target and engage them in conversation. Finding people implies that you need to actually do something, people are not just going to flock to your new facebook presence. However, there are ways to make it happen, find groups that you can actively participate in, at least one that is comprised of your peers and another that has your target audience. Start talking in these groups, contribute with truly helpful information and before you know it people will be asking to connect up with you. It begins and ends with providing people with good information. That is just one tactic, there are several others for sure, but for now I am out of space and it will have to wait for another article!

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