By now you’ve probably seen the bumper stickers that say, “Wag More, Bark Less”. I saw one on a station wagon the other day (with a dog hanging out the back window, no less) and it made me think about how that pretty much sums up the attitude and activities of my favorite people, both in real life and in social media. Wagging more and barking less will always be the best strategy when trying to promote a business or organization online.
Wag More- The best traits of man’s best friend:
1. Be open and authentic. My favorite dog, Sierra, always had a friendly wag and a smile (seriously!) for anyone who came by. She didn’t care what they looked like or how much money they had. To her, we were all an opportunity for a belly rub or a treat. In order to develop trust and build your reputation and digital presence, it’s good to offer a friendly wag at everyone. You never know which positive or helpful post, tweet or comment will resonate with someone. While it can be fun to be a bit sarcastic or snarky once in a while, you don’t usually want to brand yourself that way. All too often, I see people, even business owners, use social networking sites to air their feelings of superiority and negativity.
2. Be loyal. If you have people in your network who are supportive with retweets, comments and likes, return the favor on a regular basis. Make that part of your routine. You’ll get a lot better response by promoting others than by constantly promoting your business.
3. Be consistent. You can set a watch by a dog’s routine. Using a “set and forget” attitude with social media (or with any marketing tool) will not bring you the results you could get if you have a plan and stick to it. It is difficult to be consistently engaged and develop good content, but doing so is the usually the only way you’ll see a good return.
4. Be excited. If you’re enthusiastic about your products and services, show it! Passion resonates with people, especially since your interactions are online and can so impersonal. People want to filter through the information overload and find the buried “bone”, so stand out with excitement.
Bark Less- The most annoying trait of man’s best friend:
5. Dogs that constantly bark usually either get ignored or receive negative attention. The same thing happens with barking people online. Most of us get tired of being sold to all of the time. It is OK to talk about your products and services, of course, but you have to temper promotion of self with gratitude and promotion of others.
Spend as much time promoting others as you do yourself, and you’ll see far more results from your efforts.