How to invade the social media Space without posting anything?

Relationships can either help you cope with stress or get you into more stress. Social media is a medium to connect with people and establish relationships.

If you’re a brand that aspires to increase your social media presence, you have two options. Either to contact a sophisticated social media agency to do it for you, or to follow the tips mentioned in this blog and beat your competitors in the first knock.

You might be thinking there is no rocket-science in using social media to promote your brand, but what if I tell you that you can even outsmart your competitors on social media even without posting on social media.

Before you think I am a downright lunatic, hear me out. When I first heard about the concept, I was just as flabbergasted. After all, with 1,500 items per day vying for the top position on a Facebook user’s News Feed, won’t posting 6 times a day instead of 1 really help you break through the noise of the social networks? But once I applied these tips, things started working out too well for my brand.

Be Consistent with your branding

If you want to be taken seriously, be consistent.

Why do you think famous brands like Coca-Cola and Nike keep re-branding their products? When their products are already undisputed leaders, what is the point of branding at all?

The best way to stay in touch with your customers is with the help of social media. Brands leverage social media to connect with their customers and put their story out there. If the story doesn’t have a solid foundation, how will it grow?

A solid foundation translates into being consistent with your branding efforts. The problem with brands these days is inconsistency in their branding on social media. They use various messages across social media platforms without thinking about the consequences. It is good to change the message with respect to the demographics of the audience. But if your colors, alignment of text, and logos are not consistent, it will drive your customers crazy.

Inspect all your business profiles and scrutinize if the message is clear from the customer’s point-of-view.

Here are a few things that you need to look for:

• The company description.
• Website URL.
• Typography and colors should align with the overall branding.
• Consistent imagery

If you want people to connect with you, it is your obligation to be there for them. Some people prefer contact by email, some by social media. It is indispensable to stay consistent so that people can contact you with whatever medium they deem convenient.

Network with people from your personal profiles

When Tony Hsieh launched Zappos.com, he wanted to connect with people directly. So, instead of hiring a social media agency, he started managing the company’s Twitter handle himself. He tweeted behind-the-scenes happenings, heeded the rants of frustrated customers and turned those customers into raving fans with his communication and persuasion skills.

Unless you’re Gary V who doesn’t need communication lessons to lead people, you need to use all your social media profiles to entice your audience. Connect with them. Hear them out. Sometimes, even the biggest problems can be resolved simply by lending an ear.

Add people to your Facebook friend list, follow them on Twitter, and connect with clients on LinkedIn. With a personal profile, people will feel relaxed and share all their concerns. If you listen to people well, they will market your brand themselves.

When you start interacting with people, work on your relationship. Listen to their problems, and if possible, hang out with them. And when they’re ready, pitch them your product.

People feel safe communicating with a personal account rather than an anonymous account.  Start small and cultivate a network of people. And when the time comes, turn those people into clients.

One-to-One conversation is a blessing

Gary V realized the potential of direct messaging in the year 2012. If you want to get more leads, you need to hustle more. Don’t just spend time reading posts. Take time and send out messages to people. Start from Twitter, use Instagram, and even LinkedIn to connect with your potential clients. Here is how you can do it:

Not just clients; you can use private messages (PM) to pitch your business to potential investors. Just avoid these mistakes while pitching your product. Join LinkedIn groups for Entrepreneurs and build relationships with them.

Before you even pitch your product or message your personal contact with your business proposal, use these tips to add value first:

• Share an interesting article with them.
• Send a personal greeting on their special occasions.
• Thank them randomly for something they shared.
• When you first connect with someone, thank them for accepting the request and hold out the olive branch by offering to answer any queries pertaining to your niche.
• If you’re working on something, solicit their help. It makes them feel special and important and automatically creates a rapport with them.

Be Proactive

Generally, the way brands connect with their customers on social media is primarily reactive. They wait for customers to break the ice. Either complain or praise the brand so they respond to it.

If you want to conquer the social media realm, you need to help your clients with their problems. How about referring to your friend who is a website developer to a client who is looking for someone to develop their website? Or helping the client find a freelancer for their business.

These small gestures might sound aimless, but once you start helping your clients without any specific reason, your client will remember to do business with you when they need your product.

Conclusion

You can either use it or abuse it, but what you cannot do is ignore social media. Everyone is on social media. Your clients. Your competitors. And even your friends. If you’re still not active on social media, it is time to take a wise decision and start using social media to generate some solid leads.

It is not a small term investment, in fact, it will develop trust, loyalty, and transparency with your customers.

What methods do you use to develop a strong relationship with your clients? Do you use one medium or all of them? Can you share some tips which helped you grow your brand? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.