Interaction – Social Media’s Holy Grail

I’ve heard it all before.  Businesses have what they think is a superb, active, and in all ways rocking social media campaign.  But regardless of whether they have lots of fans, few fans, or no fans following them, solid interaction with those followers eludes them. 

What’s the big deal with interaction and isn’t it enough just to have an active profile online?  In short, NO.  No interaction leads to know new contacts.  No new contacts leads to no business.  No business leads to suffering.

A study recently came out providing one of the most comprehensive and in-depth looks at what sort of social media profiles are encouraging interaction.  Several of the findings confirm points I have previously highlighted on this site. 

Don't be boring!

1) Don’t be boring.  If you’re constantly trying to sell, sell, sell, and don’t try to have fun and add excitement, your social media campaign is DOA.  The study found that celebrities and artists tend to do the best with encouraging and fostering interaction.  That’s not surprising since certain people love interacting with celebrities any way that they can, and art is one of those topics that provokes discussion.  Not surprisingly, brands were the most boring.  Companies and professionals continue to fall into the trap of often be boring or overly repetitive when they post.  Yawn! 

2) Not all followers are equal.  Some followers will just tend to interact more.  There will always be a certain population of fans that you can’t squeeze a comment out of if your life depended on it.  They may never check your page, decide they don’t like it anymore, or who knows.  Comparing the number of your total followers to comments and other interaction measures is thus an exercise in futility. 

3) Provide useful information.  On Facebook, media outlets clean up when it comes to comments, generating 5 times more than brand profiles.  This is more fuel for companies to post interesting news that relates to a brand, but does not have to be all about them.  Local angles for professionals (real estate agents, dentists, chiropractors, etc.) are also key to connect with followers. 

Over posting - a sign of Internet addiction?

4)Don’t over post.  Underposting and the phenom of what I call the Tumbleweed Social Media Profile is a danger, but so is over posting.  Excessive posting again and again will overload followers.  This becomes pestering with an air of desperation and you’re telling your followers to run, do not walk, to the nearest exit.  Twitter can certainly be more manic than Facebook, but some limits still apply.

Matt