The Common Denominator

Where’s My Jet Pack has a great picture that nails the current state of social media. People spend hours and hours trying to figure out the best way to crack the “social media nut” in order to get more followers, sell more products or become more popular. No matter how clever we think we are, witty we try to be, or intelligent we try to make our communications, it’s usually the off comment about having breakfast that gets the most attention.

Why is that?

It goes back to being relatable.  You can blog/tweet/comment about the best ways to use Twitter or how to get 5,000 followers on Facebook and that will get quick attention but if you can’t follow it up with meaningful discussion in a relatable way, it will be pointless. 

People want to be distracted and it doesn’t take much to push someone in the direction you want. Mention breakfast and post a photo to go with it and people can immediately relate. We all know what breakfast is and most people start their day with it. Add a photo and now you’ve got a visual device that allows people to provide even greater feedback.

A couple of days ago, I posted the following on my Facebook status, “Stefan is happy it’s today.” Basically I’m saying I’m happy it is a day. The phrase has no meaning. Normally, I get no comments on my status updates, but I received three comments on this.  Why? Because people could relate to it being a happy day and they were having one or something special was happening to them that day. It struck a note with my followers and they were able to place their own meaning on it.

When using social media it’s important to keep the message simple and relatable. When companies enter social media, they should first figure out how they are going to communicate with their audience. Will it be at a highly technical or at a more simple level? Will it just be a broadcasting tool or will you talk with the people that start to follow or friend your brand?

Before starting any social media campaign should know three things.

• Know what your message is.
• Know who your audience is.
• Know what you want to achieve.

The great thing about social media is you can have several conversations in different places on different levels. Some people want to talk about the technical aspects of a product, others want want to share their experience with a brand or product and some just want to talk about what they had for breakfast. You can talk with developers on a technical level in one place; have an everyday conversation in another and a broadcast message area in a third place.  It’s about knowing how to talk to your target market and understanding the needs of the environment in which you’re communicating.

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The Common Denominator: Understanding Social Media http://is.gd/p3Im

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He love to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.