11 8 / 2010
Social Media Engagement Styles: Which one is right for your audience?
Whether you decide to to use Twitter, Facebook, a blog, an online community or any combination of these to connect with your customers, your social media presence becomes a significant part of the face and voice of your company. Through communications and marketing, businesses can position themselves as the friendly and helpful local hardware store or the cool insider who has access to all the deals and discounts. It’s the same with social media but even more apparent as social media interactions happen in near real-time.
It’s important to develop a style and stick to that persona from the onset of your social media initiative as you engage with your users. But what engagement styles are there and what fits your company’s persona and business goals? Here are a few question to get your brain going:
- What is your company culture and how does that affect what tone you take in social media communications?
- How much time and resource can and will you put into the program?
- What level of transparency and accessibility are you comfortable with?
Once you have a good idea of what makes sense for your situation, take a look at this excellent Mashable article, HOW TO: Pick the Right Social Media Engagement Style. The author explores five distinct personas ranging from “The Beehive” to “The Friend” and tactical examples of how to bring those communication styles alive in your social media interactions. These personas should cover most situations, but there are others and hybrids. Pick one and really try to stick with it. In doing so you’ll build trust and a sense of accessibility with your audience.
Here at Reality Digital, we strive to take on “The Resource” persona by sharing relevant information from the industry and our own experience with our customers and followers. Check this blog weekly for more social media how-to’s and follow us on Twitter (@realitydigital) where we share articles on the latest in the social media industry.
