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There’s a reason why people love social media — well, let’s be honest, there’s a million reasons why people love social media — but the one factor that remains the same is conversation.
Conversation and social media open doors to people that have previously been closed, locked, and barred shut. Now, Regular Joe can be at the precipice of his favorite celebrity’s thoughts and gossip, and be a part of the conversation. Consumers can interact with their favorite brands by tweeting or posting to the company’s feeds/walls, complain about a product, or share their favorite aspects of the product or business. Joe Stradinger, founder and CEO of EdgeTheory has said this many times about the importance of conversation in social media:
"Content has always been King. Context has always been his Queen, but conversation connects and holds them together."
Speak the native-tongue
You should be creating, curating, and sharing information that is relevant, interesting, and helpful, but be mindful of which platform you’re on because that truly dictates how you should be speaking (whether sharing images, infographics, videos, links, etc).
Take these tips from HubSpot or Buffer.
Don’t just talk, LISTEN
The 80/20 rule — we’ve mentioned it before, and here it is again because IT’S IMPORTANT. In order to be a good conversationalist IRL or on social media, you must listen more than you speak! Don’t just link to your content or website! Share relevant information from influencers or industry happenings; share quotes or funny (appropriate) photos. Posts, especially on Facebok, that don’t ask anything from your followers — posts that simply inspire laughter or nostaglia — are often the ones that are shared and liked most.
Check out who’s showing up
Analytics is an important step. If you don’t know who’s invested in your conversation, how can you tailor it towards them? Whether you’re using Google Analytics, Buffer, or Facebook and Twitter Analytics, you should be checking in often to see what’s happening — how many posts are shared and by whom (demographics, age groups, GEO-specific origins, etc).
This post from KISSmetrics is a valuable learning source for incorporating conversation into your lead-generation goals, but here’s a bonus tidbit we really enjoyed:
"Bonus lead gen hacks which have … great results:
Tweeting links to your content directly to influencers (but only if it’s relevant to them!)
Asking influencers (with whom you already have a relationship) to tweet your content to their followers
When you post a link to content on your Facebook page, tag relevant influencers (or anyone mentioned in the article)
Post your content in relevant groups and communities in LinkedIn, Facebook & Google Groups,
Answer questions relevant to your industry/product in Quora"
Conversation is a very important aspect of SEO and generating leads, but it’s also just a great tool that should be incorporated into your content strategy.
What are some ways you’ve found that conversation has really amped up your success in social media marketing? Share in the comments!
