Ok. Here is a brief recap. We made the choice to go fishing. We have established what we want to catch. We did our research and we established where we need to go to catch that particular fish. We also determined what equipment would be necessary and have it all ready to go. One very vital part of that equipment package is the Bait. With that said we are good to go. We did our research so we know exactly what bait will work to attract the exact fish we are looking for. Ok enough fish talk. It is time to look at how this looks for your social media marketing campaign!
In regards to marketing, bait is exactly what it sounds like. We put a lot of resources into our marketing campaigns. We need them to bring in a return on the investment of those resources. If you have done your research and equipment gathering here is where you are at. You know what you want to sell. You know who your target audience is. You also know exactly where to find this audience. Other things you should know are….. When you will find this audience, and what tools you will need to reach this audience. If you put all of this together you now know exactly what bait to use. You will also know exactly how, where and when to display your bait for the absolute best results.
Now we will take a detailed look at the bait. It is time to veer off of our fishing example for a little bit. Here is why…. I do not think there is anything beneficial to the fish on our fishing trip. Yes we draw the fish in with our bait but from the time the fish takes it to the time the fish is caught…. I do not believe the fish is benefited nor do they enjoy any part of the experience….. This is why we are abandoning the fishing trip example for a short time.
Remember if you want your social media marketing campaign to be successful your bait must be all about doing Social Good. It is ok to make money with our campaign; however we want our bait to actually be useful and helpful to them that see it. At no time do we want our customers to be disappointed. From the moment our customer sees our bait. We want our bait to be something our customer finds value in. The bait is simply the first step required to lead our customers to a pleasant and sincere business relationship. This is not a trick. Our intent is to help the customer and in the process draw them in to a long term beneficial relationship.
The Bait must be present. It must be in the right place and it must be relevant to your customer and to your product. If you place the wrong bait in the right place you will not get very good results. The same goes for the right bait in the wrong place. Your plan must be accurate in every detail. If it is, the results will be very beneficial for your business.
Let’s take a look at how this can work. If you want to sell real-estate and you choose to use some sort of social media marketing campaign. You could start out by offering helpful tips to getting the best appraisal of your property. If I were looking to sell my home I would find this article of interest to me. I would read it and if I found it to be beneficial, credible, and relevant I would take the bait. I would very likely consider using you to list my property. Why you might ask. Here are some of the reasons I would most likely choose you.
- Your bait attracted me. I was interested in what you were going to teach me.
- I found your bait to be interesting and helpful.
- I believe you know what you are doing. Because your article made sense.
- Your article was relevant to my situation. I was looking to sell and was concerned about getting the best appraisal I could in these economically challenged times.
- You are in my area. (Remember we researched the area we wanted to fish) If you were thousands of miles away I would have read your article and moved on to find a local realtor.
I could go on but you get the picture. You have just lured in a potential customer that is eager to take your bait and be hooked. Again remember pleasant experience. You have to finish the rest of the campaign successfully (we will get into that on future articles). Just make sure you focus your bait on doing good. From there, make sure you are relevant to your customer and in the right place at the right time. If you do this your bait will work. And your customers will actually appreciate you placing it in front of them.
I want to close with two pieces of advice.
- Be sincere. Put together pieces that will actually be beneficial to all who read or view them.
- Focus on relevance. Where, when, what, and who really matter. Do your research and show the right people what they want to see. Know your audience.
