I am a huge fan of the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini . I think it schools everywhere should have it on their curriculum. Certainly, everyone in business, large or small, should read it. Here are my tips to apply his methods to an online social media marketing campaign. These methods can help you to increase contacts, leads and sales.
Become a leading authority. Take note of what your competitors and clients are discussing, online and offline, and learn about the topics. The people you deal with will not follow your advice if they don not believe that you know your subject. Consider starting a blog to communicate your thoughts to the world at large, and encourage others to read and comment on it.
Create social proof of your authority. People are more likely to trust that you are knowledgeable on your subject if you have other followers or fans. Collect and publish feedback and testimonials to provide proof to those who do not know you that you can be trusted.
Be accessible. Create interesting content for your followers, and make sure you target it at the right level for your audience. If people do not understand or like your content then they will not share it and it will not create discussion.
Create scarcity. Do not give too much away. Have offers that have limited time frames. Encourage people to take you up on the offers as soon as possible, because they might just miss out otherwise. Create exclusivity around your product or service.
Scratch each others’ backs. The book suggests doing something in advance for someone before you ask them to do something for you. People are far more likely to do things for you if you as a reciprocal favor. Make sure you know who does do favors for you and be sure to thanks them and make them feel good about helping you out.
Be consistent. Keep a target is mind of what you want to achieve and make sure that all your actions are done with that target in mind. Engage people with your organization, and always listen to people as well as putting your messages out there. I say this all the time, but communications must be regular and frequent
I cannot recommend this book enough. Contact us at our Las Vegas Social Media Coach Website for further advice on how to use Cialdini’s methods to promote your organization through social media.
FreeSocial online marketing and social media coach 