Simple on Social

A lot of people seem to misunderstand what social media marketing is all about. I see one off ads on social media all the time, which is disappointing. One off social media ads are best used to sell cheap products to gullible people. However, I am not interested in doing that at all. The other mistake I see small companies make with their social media is making their posts about the content rather than the form. Let me explain:

I recently came across linkedin posts from a car dealership I worked with some time ago. They had posted funny little short videos about buying cars, selling cars, and working at a car dealership. Already, two mistakes have been made: linkedin is not the place for funny/trendy videos, and their audience cannot relate to content about working at a car dealership. However, in my eyes these mistakes are minimal compared to what I have started referring to as the cardinal sin of social media: constantly changing form.

Social media branding is all about recognition, not response. No one can learn to recognize your brand if every post has different people in a different setting. No one is looking at your account name. Think of it like this: suppose you walk to work every day. One day, you see a noticeable and attractive stranger. You don’t look too long as you pass them because you’re thinking of other things. The next day, you see them again. Curious, you think. They must have started a job in this area of town. You might think about them a little longer than you did yesterday. Five more days of this, and you might say “Hello, good morning”. Suppose they respond, and you have a small conversation with them. With each interaction, you are gathering data about this person, but you will not trust them until you’ve had repeated positive interactions with them. The same is true of social media. The dividends gained by putting out consistent recognizable content are far greater than those gained by putting out a dozen fantastic but dissimilar videos.