Twitter is a great social media platform because of its simplicity. But with that simplicity comes the potential for marketers to set up a Twitter page and start tweeting with little regard for good social media strategy. Like other social media platforms, Twitter is about having a conversation and providing value. There is no captive audience for your Twitter posts, and if you’re just another spammer, your customers will stop following you.

How do you know if your social media marketing is serving up nothing but a heaping plate of spam? Two words: common sense.

It’s easy to forget common sense when you’re too caught up in your own brand and have been drinking the social media Kool-Aid. This results in brand tweets like this:

We just redecorated the 3rd floor kitchen at Brand X and it looks great!

Buy Brand X! It’s awesome!

Wow, fantastic. I so don’t care. Try getting in your customers’ heads. What do they want out of your brand and how should that translate to your social media marketing? They want value and they want relevant social media interaction. Here are some good examples from Reebok:

Congratulations to Rio for winning the 2016 Olympic bid – we’ll see you there!

Reminder: take $15 OFF your next of order of $75 or more @ Reebok.com (there are a couple exclusions). Code 15OFF. http://bit.ly/Wka4T

Congratulations to @Reebok athlete @Jones_Drew32 on being named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Week!

Reebok is providing fun and informative sports tweets that are interesting to the Reebok target market, and valuable discounts on Reebok merchandise as part of their social media marketing. This combination creates value and makes following Reebok worthwhile. How this is best done will look and feel a bit different for each brand, but the key to social media is to create value for your customers.

Happy tweeting!

AlterSeekers is a brand promotions agency in New York focusing on promotions consulting and planning, web strategy, social media marketing (including Facebook strategy), go to market strategy, and overall strategic planning. For more information see AlterSeekers.com.

1. Be clear and transparent with your objectives.

What is the purpose of your product or service’s Facebook page? Do you have a clear and concise facebook strategy? While your ultimate goal may be to win business, your Facebook participation should be focused on activities that support sales instead of expecting your Facebook page to make direct sales. Effective social media marketing conveys clear, consistent messaging.

2. Do not attempt to maintain control over your content.

Instead, welcome Facebook user participation in the form of comments, pictures, videos, feedback and reviews. Water tends to seek its own level, and social media is a powerful equalizing force. Although you may encounter a few ‘trolls’ whose only intention is to convey your brand negatively, if you already have a positive force in the marketplace, your brand champions will quickly step in to defend you. People will inevitably take your information and remold it according to their needs, so encourage creativity whenever possible.

3. Dedicate enough staff to be able to listen effectively.

Interacting with your users and forging relationships within your online community takes a significant time investment. It is very important for your Facebook presence manager(s) to be able to articulate your social media marketing objectives and ensure that your facebook strategy evolves in synch with the growth of your online community.

4. You must give to receive.

A successful facebook strategy gives something of value before expecting to receive anything in return. Offer your community something they want because this encourages community interaction. Your users will keep coming back and will spread your message virally as they tell their friends. Also, the goal of your social media marketing should not be to bring users to your website. Keep your Facebook community on Facebook, because users do not like to leave while they are there.

5. Keep it real.

Facebook social media marketing is not an alternative channel for your traditional interrupt marketing programs. Your facebook users expect a social experience, not a platform for sales solicitations. Imagine being at a party where you are discussing your favorite books or sharing pictures of your children and someone interrupts your conversation with a sales pitch. Your facebook strategy should be to provide information that facilitates sales, not make direct sales.

6. Define how you will measure your ROI.

Whether your facebook strategy includes increased product awareness, cost reductions in support staff, better qualified leads, or a combination of all of the above, you must be able to set and measure your goals to determine the effectiveness of your social media marketing programs.

AlterSeekers is a brand promotions agency in New York focusing on promotions consulting and planning, web strategy, social media marketing (including Facebook strategy), go to market strategy, and overall strategic planning. For more information see AlterSeekers.com.

Given the positive feedback from our Monetizing Social Media webinar, we decided to post a short video on the subject to help summarize and promote the webinar. We’d love to know what you think. Please leave comments below or email me at brent@alterseekers.com. Thanks!

We just finished editing new videos on AlterSeekers and would love your feedback. This one talks about how online promotions has evolved with Social Marketing. We’d love to know what you think!

Something interesting happened in the news this morning. The papers and websites reported that David Letterman had slept with a number of his employees. Typically the source for such information would be the women in question, or other concerned parties. The source this time? Letterman himself, who announced it on the air Thursday night.

In this case Letterman was avoiding an extortion attempt from somebody who had all the information. But it raises an interesting point: more and more, privacy and secrecy are becoming a thing of the past. And in response, more people and companies are recognizing honesty as a viable policy.

The book “Tactical Transparency,” by Shel Holtz and John C. Havens has helped popularize this point and helps marketers consider transparency as part of their strategic planning.

In particular, social media is becoming the de facto platform for open and honest conversation with your customers. Your brand’s social media strategy and particularly your Facebook strategy should be based on this model.

Many brands want to play the games of the past. Customers are complaining about your product? Bury the evidence. Scandal in the boardroom? Ignore it and it’ll blow over. Quality issues? Just advertise more and nobody will notice.

The fact is that in today’s world consumers have massive amounts of information available at their fingertips. And with the advent of social media marketing, consumers expect to hear from you as much as they hear about you. And they expect to ask you questions and get answers.

Because so many companies are still avoiding this open conversation with their customers, those who take advantage now have a unique opportunity to inspire amazing levels of brand loyalty.

AlterSeekers is a brand promotions agency in New York focusing on promotions consulting and planning, web strategy, social media marketing (including Facebook strategy), go to market strategy, and overall strategic planning. For more information see AlterSeekers.com.