If You’re Fine With Mediocre Social Influence, This Article is For You!

Have you ever wondered why few elite businesses make it big on social media while the majority of businesses, despite their relentless efforts, are so far behind?

This question has been haunting me for a while until I decided to legally spy on those elites and unleash some of their success secrets.  I discovered that influential businesses/people on social media possess the following qualities:

• They innovate and leverage social media for optimal engagement
• They constantly deliver exceptional content
• Yes, you guessed right! They intelligently “listen” to their target market and hand them what they need on a sliver plate

My bold claim is that if you followed their tracks, you will join their club! Here’s what you need to do…

1. Innovate and Leverage Social Media For Optimal Engagement

Social Media with its amazing viral marketing capabilities have sparked the most innovative ideas and still does.  If there’s one Social Diva who rightfully deserves the “Facebook Queen” title, She’s definitely Mari Smith.

Mari never ceases to amaze me when it comes to innovative Facebook marketing. I recently read that she hosts live webinars and chats on Facebook. For those who think it’s too much work, she suggests conducting Q&A session with your Facebook fans through your page wall. This way, you can effectively engage with your fans and gain their trust, while enhancing your visibility on their news feeds. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! I love it!

Speaking of chats, Twitter chats are very hot. This is how they work: Organizers setup regular chatting dates, times and preset hashtags . That’s it! Let the twitter fun begins!

Recently, I had an amazing #SocialMedia chat on Twitter and connected with great people. Based on my experience, I highly recommend that you get into at least 2 of these chats once a week. As for Q&A, I saw it as a blog category in DailyBlogTips.com. The idea is simple: people send their questions through the contact form and they get answered in subsequent blog posts.

This is what I meant by innovating. Q&A and chats are very effective social engagement techniques. Give them a shout and you will see magnificent results.

2. Constantly Deliver Exceptional Content

“Content is king”…blah blah blah! I am sure you’ve read this sentence zillion times before! But please hang in there with me for a second as I will be sharing two somewhat unknown content marketing tips.

Exceptional Content Tip 1: The Elephant in The Room – Be Controversial!

Many studies have shown that people devour controversial issues. Use them whenever possible to stir up some heat. In fact, you might encourage your fans/followers/blog readers to share their opposing opinions and create something like an e-debate club.

Aaron Eden, the brains behind Garious, is also the founder of InnovatorsMix.com where he conducts audio interviews with notable business figures. He lately decided to start conducting opposing-opinions-interviews, where opponents will be present and each will be given an equal chance to express his/her opinion. I bet at least twice as much people would listen to such heated interviews. Wouldn’t you agree?

Exceptional Content Tip 2: Sad but True…Negativity Rules!

Dean Hunt, a self-proclaimed viral content guru, said that his articles get much more readership when the title is negative – Something like: “How to Work Hard Not Smart?”

Interestingly, the actual article will offer the opposite tips in a very compelling and informative style. Still, it’s the negative title that seems to strike a chord with many readers! (this tip resonated with me so much that I decided to try it out on this article. Reread the title and you will know what I mean!)

This reminds me of another rather general advice: if you ever come across any tip or advise that sounded so interesting to you, go ahead and try it out immediately. This is how we learn and evolve.

3. Intelligently Listen to Your Target Market and Hand Them What They Need on a Silver Plate

Well, I have exhausted the listening issue in many articles before. Still, I certainly can’t overlook it when detailing how to make it big time on social media.

I am sure that you get the idea itself but doing it right is no smooth sailing! Here are 3 of my favorite articles on the topic:

1. The “Thank You Economy” Precious Lessons on Business Humanization…
2. Why Listen, Partner, Innovate Are 2011 Social Branding Keywords
3. Yes, You May be “Listening” to 1% of What People Say About Your Brand! The Good News is…

What’s your take on these tips? Do they make sense to you? I am sure there are much more tactics that Social Elites use. Can you think of additional ones? Your valuable contribution is much appreciated.