One of the best social media tactics is to build relationships with people who will do your marketing for you. That would be the dream, right? Having someone else do your job?
Ah, if only it were as simple as having someone else do your job. It’s actually loads more difficult than that. You can’t just contact someone online with loads of followers and expect them to market your materials to their audience.
If you can’t do that, then what can you do? I’m here to help!
Identify
Your first step is to identify the people or brands you would like to have relationships with.
The biggest mistake people make with this is to only go after the big accounts. Your message will get lost with those accounts because everyone is going after them. And your marketing won’t be as effective. Those fans will be so used to those accounts doing ads that they practically ignore them when they show up. The amount of time you will spend on those accounts will not be worth it.
Look for the smaller accounts. This is where your marketing can make the most impact, since people are more likely to act on the occasional marketing in a smaller account rather than the constant marketing of a larger account. So your best prospects are those that have the potential to get bigger through their influence and knowledge of how to put together content. There’s no Magic 8 Ball that is going to tell you who these people are. It’s more of a gut feeling and a gamble.
You also need to check out the people who are regularly engaging with you. They’re already big fans and passion can make up for a lack of ability and/or reach. So make sure you reach out to your biggest fans that make sense for your brand.
Engage
Another big mistake people make is to only engage when your organization need something.
Imagine you’re talking to someone new for the first time, and they spend the entire time talking about themselves and asking you for favors. That would probably also be the last time you ever talk to them.
The same is true of making social media relationships. Ideally you would start this program long before you actually needed anything for your organization. In that case you can be more focused on the other person and not have to jump right into their private messages.
Like and comment on their content and show actual interest in what they’re doing. Get to know them on a more personal level. They will then be receptive when you do need them.
This step is key to making anything else you do with these people so much easier in the long run. It’s time consuming, but it will get you much bigger results.
From what I’m seeing, most people are skipping this now. They’re going straight to the ask. My plea to you is to do better and do this extra work to make your marketing stronger.
Feature
If you’re going to ask to be on someone else’s timeline, why not start off by asking them to be on your timeline?
My best future ambassadors started deepening their relationship with my client brands the second I asked them to be featured on our own pages. When they saw how I handled their stories with care, they trusted my clients to the point that they were willing to give more to them. It was huge and it got us so much.
These same people were more willing to share our content without me even asking them to. They were that invested in the relationship.
How should you feature them? Ask to share one of their posts that you think will resonate with your fans. Take a look at their comments on your page and either ask to share one as-is or ask them to expand on it. Or just simply ask them to share part of their story. Whatever the ask is, when you use their content and handle it with care, your relationship will be taken to the next level.
Ask
So far, all you’ve done in this relationship is give, give, give. But a strong relationship is not a one way street. So now you’re at the point where you can ask and it will be well received.
You should, however, do a little prep work before you put out that ask.
Since you’ve really gotten to know all of these people while you’ve been building this relationship, you know what’s important to them. Think about whether this particular ask is right for them. Do they have the right people following them? Is it something that will interest them?
If you think it is the right ask, then it’s time to customize it to them. The more it is customized to what’s important to them, the more likely they are to actually post it. So think about ways you can make the ask more tantalizing to them. And then take a look at the sample posts and graphics you’re sending to them. Does this really sound like something they post? Is there some way you can adjust the posts so it sounds more like their voice? Chances are good that they will change the post to suit them, but it’s always best to make sure what you’re asking from them is as simple as a copy and paste.
Social media relationships are a lot of work, much like in-real relationships. But if you keep doing that work, you can get so much more when you make that ask. So put in that work and get to know your fans on a real level. I promise you will see big returns.
Are you creating real relationships with your fans?