Innovation and Interaction: Gaining and Retaining Social Media Followers

The ever-increasing popularity of websites such as Facebook and Twitter makes it hard to ignore. Many a digital marketer have taken advantage of their vast potential to reach multitudes of people worldwide. Creating a social media campaign has become the norm for many businesses who wish to increase their visibility online.

This has meant that this certain area is becoming saturated. Promoting on social media will become an even more competitive field. That is, unless another kind of digital marketing takes its place.

But as the situation currently stands, garnering any degree of success is difficult for brands that rely on this medium. So they must ask themselves: How does one stand out above the rest?

In an online article published by Forbes Magazine, it stated that in order for a campaign to survive the competition, it needs to be innovative. It must provide content that is different from most posts that advertise similar services. While it can be difficult to create something truly original on the Internet, oftentimes it is only a matter of how one presents it.

When a company's followers are shown something that they believe they have never seen before, it makes content more interesting. The brand also becomes more memorable to newcomers. You will also be seen as a pioneer among your peers.

According to said article, how innovative a social media campaign is depends on these key qualities:

• Uniqueness of persona and voice
• the content's ability to surprise followers, and
• an unconventional posting style and format.

However, making innovations in the way they market themselves is only half the battle for businesses. They must also be able to keep the followers they have gained in their campaigns.

According to a business magazine Entrepreneur's article, many businesses only focus on reeling in more new followers than they are with retaining them. Earning their loyalty is important as it improves a brand's online standing.

A company can keep their customers loyal and happy, says the article, by maintaining the quality of their posts. Better yet, content quality should be improved for the sake of the followers.

Brands should also watch out for the way they interact with both new and old followers. Social media is an effective tool for online exposure. It is a double-edged blade, however. The kind of visibility that one gets can be the good or the bad kind, depending on how a brand engages with its followers.

Customers value sincerity and consistency with their interactions with businesses. One wrong word, one mistake in how a reply sounds to a customer, and it can be shared or retweeted in a few moments. News spreads quickly on the Internet. Events in real life can also affect a brand's reputation, both online and offline. One such instance is the recent issue regarding United Airlines' treatment of its passengers. The spread of the viral video on social media has affected even their stocks, if for a short time.

Entrepreneur states that follower loyalty can be attained through:

• Giving informative and helpful answers to customer queries
• Sharing brand-related content made by users
• Acknowledging people who leave comments on posts or reviews on the page
• Starting and continuing conversations with followers
• Promising and solving any problems and complaints reported by customers

The increasing competitiveness of social media campaign means that it is vital for marketers to do what they can to make themselves known. Going the extra mile is no longer an added bonus, but should now be the norm. But they should also take note that both sides--the marketer and the business itself--must do their part to improve services on the Internet and in the real world.

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