How could/should I use social media?

[BobbyBoy]

Hi Guys

A question for our social media experts.

How could/should I use social media to promote Kitchen Door Workshop?

We have loads of customer reviews which we tweet and add to our facebook page

We add articles on a weekly basis which we also tweet

We add press releases on a monthly basis which are distributed widely

Most of our customers can only buy our product one time only, and its not the type of product that anyone would buy regularly.

Grateful for any feedback on how we can use

Robert

 

[businesswebdesignwirral]

Offering a competition for someone to win replacement doors could grow your followers and friends.. Whereas they won't all win you will be able to provide further offers for business to the same people ... Since they are likely to still need your product your conversions should be good.

I am unsure if you can carry this cost but a good offer (or chance of one) has always worked for my clients.

 

[mehmlyndsy]

Create profiles on all social media sites as you know twitter, digg, facebook etc and post your updates here day to day, also create fan page on social networking sites.

 

[JD@fifty6]

As 'businesswebdesignwirral' said, ultimately you're looking to provide an incentive for people to come along and connect with you. Once they're there, you add engagement and virality to that base of connections.

The single best thought I can ever plant into peoples heads about social media is that it's nothing new - it's just word of mouth advertising on a new platform. If you think about it in terms of getting people talking about your products and services, and not in terms of technical issues and 'newness', then you can't get on the wrong track.

 

[webgeek]

Social media is not supposed to be a pulpit where you shout about how great you are. That's not how you win friends and influence people.

Think of it instead as a cocktail party. The people who are often the most popular, and who come away with the best dates, deals, or whatever they went to the party for are not the people shouting, "me, me me".

The most success with dinner parties and social media comes from being engaging, remarkable, listening and being interested in others, and giving something of value, whether that be wit and charm, a list of valuable resources, an introduction to a valuable connection, or what have you.

Spend 80% of your time making selfless posts that include retweets, reblogs, comments about the contributions of others, news and valuable resources, and you'll be seen as contributory, insightful and relevant.

Spend the other 20% promoting yourself so that when your type of product or service is needed, you are front of mind and they have bookmarked you for safekeeping.

 

[BobbyBoy]

Think of it instead as a cocktail party. The people who are often the most popular, and who come away with the best dates, deals, or whatever they went to the party for are not the people shouting, "me, me me".

What a great analogy thank you!

Bobby

 

[JD@fifty6]

A fellow David Meerman Scott fan?

 

[SEO Lady]

Hi Guys

A question for our social media experts.

How could/should I use social media to promote Kitchen Door Workshop?

We have loads of customer reviews which we tweet and add to our facebook page

We add articles on a weekly basis which we also tweet

We add press releases on a monthly basis which are distributed widely

Most of our customers can only buy our product one time only, and its not the type of product that anyone would buy regularly.

Grateful for any feedback on how we can use

Robert

Around 65% of people look for reviews before buying from an online company.

Open a free account with Trustpilot and invite reviews from customers - good for SERPs and SEO and customer service. You can also respond to the reviews.

Also encourage Freeindex reviews using the review link they provide - there is a widget you can embed on your site.

Also have you released any before / after videos and optimised your YouTube channel, you could embed these in your website?

 

[apricot]

Go to SEOmoz and find the last ''Friday Whiteboard'' video on their blog. It's about how to get interactive with audience and how to get people to pay attention. it's very helpful video actually.

 

[liongroup]

Use this article. This will give you a picture of how online marketing works as well as a step by step guide.

 

[webgeek]

A fellow David Meerman Scott fan?

Heh, yeah - wish I had thought of it first

 

[PIngels]

I just did a post on another discussion about the same subject: please check it out here:


http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=252274&page=2

 

[amac]

There's a good step by step guide on how to use social media (and other forms of online marketing) in this article at SEOMoz.

 

[TheBlogshop]

The reply from webgeek pretty much sewed this one up.

I think you're trying to use social media for the wrong primary purpose, something we see quite a lot.

With any type of online social activity, whether that's Twitter or blogging (or in fact offline activity, as webgeek pointed out), your initial focus should always be on communicating with your customers, whether they're past, present or potential. You're wanting to develop a presence and a following that is based on quality information, information that shouldn't always be about your company (in fact, you should be using the 80 / 20 rule - 80% of your updates should be general, industry related and of use to your customers and 20% should be some type of promotion / sales talk, although try and stay away from the 'come buy our products' updates).

Develop a presence on social networks, become respected and over time you'll see the benefits.