By Katherine Tattersfield, Print Geek
Since you’re on this site, I think it’s safe to assume that you “get” social media to some extent. Present company excluded, I’ve noticed a lot of printers asking for online marketing advice on LinkedIn. Since my background revolves around digital marketing, my fellow printing industry professionals want to pick my brain when it comes to SEO and social. It seems some folks still think of people like me as modern magicians, and they’re often disappointed by my honesty. I’ve been in the search game for over 3 years, and I’m here to tell you straight up: there are NO tricks to my trade. Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of crap.
The no trick rule applies to both SEO and social media, although I think the stigma seems stronger on the community management end. Public perception of SEO improved in the last couple of years thanks in part to Google’s recent Panda and Penguin updates. But social media involves multiple sites simultaneously, so it doesn’t have a powerful overseer like Google in its corner to give business owners a sense of clarity. For this reason, many people perpetuate the myth that social marketing should be easy, an advertising technique you can master in just 30 minutes per day.
Hopefully you know that building a solid social presence takes tons of efforts with little tangible rewards. That’s why I believe skateboarding serves as an excellent metaphor for the struggles of the B2B social sphere.
I’ve been skating for years without noticing much progress in terms of my shredding skills. And that doesn’t bother me at all because I love the sport. I feel as though skating is a part of who I am, just as social media is a natural extension of your business. Skating’s definitely taught me more about marketing than any high priced training course or seminar, so I thought I’d drop some of that concrete wisdom on the CMYK set.
7 Social Media Marketing Tips from the Pavement
#7) You Get Out What You Put In- When you start your session with a weak kick, you’re not going to go very far. If you expect to improve without practicing, you’re bound to be disappointed. The best skaters spend most of their time on the streets doing the same moves over and over until they nail’em. Likewise, social brands devote considerable time to campaign planning, content creation, and optimization. Bottom line: they invest their time and labor, which pays off in the long run.
#6) Set Realistic Goals- Nobody picks up a board for the first time and wins the X Games Gold. A newbie trying to bust a 1080 before cracking an Ollie is analogous to a local business expecting 10,000 Facebook fans to appear overnight. Most fan pages don’t have thousands of fans, especially brick and mortar businesses. Instead of chasing impossible dreams, define goals you can actually accomplish i.e. 20 new fans per month or 5 RTs in a week.
#5) Don’t be Afraid to Fall- Everybody does a face plant once in a while. Falling off your board is inevitable, much like posting a carefully thought out blog post that no one reads. You can’t fight the unavoidable, so why try?
#4) Sharpen your Reflexes- Skaters often envision what they want to do way before they attempt a trick. They also replay their spills in their mind’s eye and train their bodies to react quickly to potential threats. This way they avoid making the same errors and steer clear of hazards when they’re in motion. Similarly, social media amounts to a series of actions and reactions. Anticipate possible problems i.e. trolls – and come up with solutions in advance. This gets your brain in gear so you’ll be able to perform during a real life PR crisis.
#3) Learn to Shift Your Weight- When you’re turning on a skateboard, you have to shift your weight to get the board to go where you want it to. Put too much pressure in the wrong places, and you’re liable to eat asphalt. Think about this scenario the next time you consider adding yet another social network to your list. Will you be able to put enough of your weight into the new site or will the shift throw you off balance?
#2) Show some Style- A little finesse never hurt anyone, and people pay attention to skaters who make everything look effortless. Facebook pages are no different. Printers with in-house designers have no excuse for not posting original images regularly. Twitter aside, social sites revolve around visual content, so your creative team gives you a huge advantage over other small businesses. Make the most of it.
#1) Use the Buddy System- Skating alone can be fun…but throw a few friends in the mix, and suddenly an ordinary session turn into a party. It’s really important for social media managers to remember that there are real people behind the screen besides customers. You already have something in common with other admins (you’re both marketing your businesses online), so strike up a conversation! Commercial printers fit into the B2B sector, which means other social marketers may end up buying their business cards from you. The truly daring may even attempt to engage with *gasp* other print providers!
Katherine serves as the Online Marketing Director at PrintFirm.com. She fell into online marketing in 2010, and built her career around this dynamic field. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from California State University, Northridge (Summa). When she’s not writing, Katherine enjoys photography, skateboarding, graphic design, and chasing her dog around with her husband.
Connect with Katherine on Facebook G+ and LinkedIn – and follow @PrintFirm on Twitter
