Source: pr9list.com (2013, November 15)
With new social media sites launching and discontinuing every day, how
does a business choose which to leverage? It would be unwise and a huge waste
of time to choose them all. Unlike high school philosophy, in social marketing maintaining
your rank and relationships doesn’t have to take all your waking hours. It is
essential to choose the most effective mix of social channels to best interact
with your audience in the best way to drive them to action.
There are such a plethora of social networks because there is a number
of ways that people most enjoy interacting with others. Psychologists have
narrowed it down to three specific learning styles: visual, auditory and
kinesthetic. Understanding these three learning styles as it applies to you, your
business and your audience can help you in choosing the best social networks to
commit to in your social marketing. According to MarketingZone.com, each can be
defined as follows:
Visual learners – Learn through seeing. Want to see
words and take notes. Videos and in person demonstrations where they can see
facial expressions and body language will be most effective.
Auditory learners – Learn through hearing. Like
podcasts, talking to someone on the phone and participating in group
discussions.
Kinesthetic
learners – Learn through
doing. Like interactive demos, surveys, games and try before you buy programs.
Various social channels lend themselves more toward one of these
learning styles than the others. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to the visual
learner. However, Facebook also to the Kinesthetic in the ability to invite a
consumer to interact with your business through a social game, contest or
upcoming event. YouTube, Vine and SnapChat lean toward the auditory learner in
video and sound capabilities. Each only lends itself to success if the right
content is delivered in order to recruit, develop and maintain relationships with
your audience.
Content without conversation is just broadcasting,
or just advertising. It goes to the
listener/reader/viewer/visitor… and stops there. If the sender is lucky, it may lodge as a
piece of information in the receiver’s consciousness, and they may act on it
someday. If the sender is luckier, or
perhaps more engaging, it may be something that the receiver wants to talk
about. And then the message gets a whole
new burst of energy. The energy behind
the message is what gives it meaning, and a life of its own. That happens because we humans like to
communicate with each other. Thus the
conversation begins.
(Novak, 2010)
Good content might grab someone’s attention, but
good conversation will keep it. Think about the last time you grabbed dinner
with a friend. What drove your conversation? If the nature of conversation
stands, it was likely driven by your latest experiences that stuck with you.
Whether those experiences were with your wife, child or the clerk at the
grocery store; it does not matter. As a business owner, you want to create
those lasting experiences. What can your business share and on what social
channel that will create a conversation with not just the MOST people…the RIGHT
people?
HGTV has taken the opportunity for a digital
connection and strategically utilized their content to find success across
several platforms. HGTV is most active on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and
YouTube. Each post, pin, tweet or video appeals to their target consumer’s
visual desire to view the finished products of home makeovers and home
decorating tips and ideas. According to general manager and senior VP of
digital for HGTV’s home category, Vikki Neal,
We’re fairly sophisticated in trying to figure out
where we should place our bets so we’re creating a good experience for people.
We’re choosing the platforms where we see our audience resonating. We have
multiple social accounts — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and we have a ton of
inspiration boards on Pinterest. We’re also doing Google Hangouts.
(Hendrickson, 2014)
I’d take a guess they learned many of their consumer’s are kinesthetic
learners and added DIY Google Hangouts to engage with them to complete
projects. Ken Lowe, chairman of the board, president and CEO of Scripps
Networks Interactive looks forward at how HGTV will continue to utilize social:
“Whatever
the platform, whatever the delivery method, whatever the location, we want to
be there” (Hendrickson, 2014).
Small to medium sized businesses without the manpower for social like
HGTV has can learn from these practices in stepping back before jumping in to
strategically choose the most effective channels for social conversation
surrounding their business message.
Choose Facebook
if… you want to
consistently build and engage in two-way conversation with a broad audience
frequently and with visual, discussion or event driven messaging.
Choose Twitter if…
your business
lends to information-driven messaging that can be delivered in 180 characters
or less at a high frequency.
Choose Pinterest
if… your message can
be best delivered visually and your target audience is primarily visual
learners. Can you show your product in an inspirational way to spark ideas?
Choose Instagram
if… again, your
message can be best delivered visually. This network lends itself to young,
urban consumers. Is this your target market? (Check out RayGun on Instagram)
Choose LinkedIn
if… you’re in human
resources or B2B marketing. Most users on LinkedIn are looking to make
professional connections or learn business and industry insights. Could you
become a thought leader in your industry?
Do the murky waters of the big wide social Internet look less
threatening? If you’re still not sure which social media platforms are best for
you, ask your audience! Give one or two that make the most sense your best shot
and don’t be afraid to step away if they turn out to be a bad investment of
time and resources. As in any conversation, quality over quantity: it is better
to be active, frequent and committed to the two or three social networks than
to poorly communicate across all the available options.
References
Hendrickson, Paula. (2014, October 14).
HGTV makes digital connection with viewers. Variety. Retrieved from http://variety.com/2014/tv/spotlight/hgtv-makes-digital-connection-with-viewers-1201329063/
MarketingZone.com. (n.d.). Understanding
learning styles to help sell more [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://www.marketingzone.com/how/increase-sales/learning-styles-help-you-sell-more
Novak, C. (2010, July
27). Why conversation, not content, is king. SocialMediaToday.com.
Retrieved April 12, 2012 from http://socialmediatoday.com/wordspring/152636/why-conversation-not-content-king
PR9List.com. (2013, November 15). The
most popular social networking sites in 2013 [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.pr9list.com/2013/11/the-most-popular-social-networking-sites-in-2013.html
