If you're everywhere on social media, you're doing it wrong.
You've decided to ramp up your marketing on social media. Good idea – it works.
But which channels to use? How about Vero, which shot to the top of the app charts in February? Or Snapchat, the hottest thing since Instagram, WhatsApp and, er, Mastodon?
I've worked with many businesses who feel pressured to jump aboard the moment a new channel is launched. They feel obliged to adopt a frenetic, omni-channel approach to marketing.
The problem with that approach is that many companies waste an inordinate amount of time and money generating content that doesn't get seen by their customers.
It's a shocking truth that customers only account for around 2% of followers for most brands, and even less for some big companies. For the most part, brands are being followed by other brands.
The key to success, though, is to do the opposite. Be on one or two social channels, but use them well.
Look for the places your customers spend their time online or offline. That's your area to 'play' in and everywhere else is irrelevant.
The main advantage to this approach is that it becomes very clear early on where not to bother. If you're not reaching your customers on Twitter, for example, then stop tweeting.
You should feel good about ignoring all the channels that don't serve your customers. That way, you'll feel empowered to select the most relevant one.
How do you know where to start? It's simple – just ask your customers.
It worked for me. I started a comedy night in Bristol but ticket sales were often dire. By talking to our target market, we realised that people often decided at the last minute what they were doing that evening. We used a local app, called Wriggle, to push out offers.
No blogs, no flyers, and no advertising – not even in the venue. We only used one social media channel – Facebook – and posted just once a month. That channel was the right one, and we began selling out.
Where do my customers find out about me?
Where can I position my product or service so they see it?
Where would I place an advert so that my customer would see it? Where would I place content? How are these different?
Where shouldn't I position my product or service?