Effective Social Marketing Profiles
Personal Profiles Become Part of Your Marketing Strategy
Feb 3, 2009
Social marketing performs many functions in a small business marketing strategy. It builds connections, forms relationships, and keeps dialogue flowing. The profile page of social marketing platforms is a great guerrilla marketing tactic if used wisely. In many search engines, such as Google, profile pages from major social marketing sites like LinkedIn appear when your name or company name is typed into their search engine. If you're searching for work, consulting or freelance opportunities, or simply seeking publicity for your small business, marketing through social marketing profile pages is essential.
Five Tips for an Effective Social Marketing Profile
To make the best use of your social marketing profile, follow these five tips for creating a profile that builds brand and attracts clients or customers to your consulting or freelance business.
- Choose your user name wisely, and be sure it is your exact name, company name or a simple variant. Do not use anything too clever, cute, controversial or odd. Be sure to save the link to your personal page, and add it to your Microsoft Outlook signature and your website to gain additional publicity.
- Your profile picture should echo your brand, whether a personal brand identity or a company brand identity. If you do not have a suitable picture, invest in professional portrait. Amateur photography conveys an amateur approach to projects.
- Include your elevator pitch statement. Let others know who you are and how you'll help them. Be sure to use action-packed and results-oriented verbs. An elevator pitch is a succinct, focused statement of what you do and how you'll help your clients. If you were on an elevator with the CEO of a company you'd want to work for, what would you say in the seconds it takes for the car to rise to his floor? That's your elevator pitch. A typical pitch follows a statement - results format. A direct marketing consultant, for example, may say as her elevator pitch, "Helping my clients acquire, attain and create loyal customers through the latest direct marketing strategies."
- Include some personal information on social networks too. Even if you're engaging in social networking only for the guerrilla marketing aspects, you're still on a social platform. Choose hobbies, interests or activities that are neutral and inoffensive to potential clients. Avoid religious or political interests unless your business is focused on those particular topics. Many hobbies and activities are interesting without being offensive. Skiing, hiking, gardening, bird watching, reading, collecting cat figurines, or working for the local humane society are all interesting things that make you seem like a real person and not just a business automaton.
- Use all your links, linking back to your website, blog, and any published articles online.
Plan Your Social Marketing Activities
All small business marketing activities benefit from a plan, and social marketing is no exception. The most successful social marketing experts use a well-formulated plan to harness the power of their networks.
- Post frequently. Daily or several times a week are usually enough.
- Avoid posting only about business. Although it's tempting to use your social networks to drum up new clients, most people will tune your posts out if they're only about business. Share articles of interest or simple tidbits about your life.
- Networks are reciprocal. You may be using your social marketing network to drum up new business, but networking is a two-way street. Always look for opportunities to share information, resources, or even share a simple congratulations or thank you to someone in your network who did you a good turn.
Social marketing is still in its infancy, but it promises to become a viable online and guerrilla marketing strategy for small businesses, independent contractors, and freelancers. Harness the power of your personal profile page and build your brand online using social marketing tactics.
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