Have you ever had a conversation with someone who changes the subject of what they are talking about repeatedly. So much so that they leave you confused and you have no idea what you were talking about in the first place. Let alone why the heck you are even talking to this person. I have a friend like that and it drives me nuts. Sometimes he can be funny so thats why you keep them around. But waiting for that comedic nugget sometimes just isn’t worth it.
This is not the type of relationship you want to have with your fans and followers. Often times marketers make the mistake of just using Social Media as one big refrigerator to post reminders of all the stuff going on in their house without really giving much thought to how each of these things go together, or who is potentially going to be reading those notes. While there is nothing wrong with posting information it does little to build a connection with the brand unless it is part of a broader strategy that connects the dots.
It’s easy to fall in the trap of random posting. One way to avoid this is to examine your marketing calendar and create content in advance that compliments your marketing plan rather than competes with it. Social media is about being social and sparking conversations. If you can string relevant posts together in a way that evokes a thought spark you are more likely to build a conversation that can lead to a more meaningful discussion.
That is not to say that sometimes things don’t come up. Of course they do and will, and it is fine to post important news and updates about your company as they happen. However that should not be all that you post.
Additionally an errant contest that has little to no connection with the brand or relevance to your customers will have very little long term impact. You might see a spike in your fan or follower counts but then what. To really have a meaningful impact you would be better served in saving those dollars for an ad campaign promoting your business than simply loading up your page with fans that just want free stuff. Contests are a great way to excite your fan base and customers and should be used as a tool for engaging with your fans and increasing awareness of your product or service in a way that is relevant to your business. A shoe manufacturer giving away an ipad on their facebook page does little to help promote their business, Giving away a tickets to a red carpet event where their customer can strut their shoes down the red carpet may make more sense.
So think first before you post. Create a content calendar to plan your messaging strategy and use a social media aggregator to schedule posts in advance to compliment your marketing calendar. Dont schedule too far in advance though because things do come up and things do change. Social media is not a set it and forget it medium.