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| Where's your audience? Courtesy | Barb Ver Sluis via Public Domain Pictures.net |
On a daily basis, 100 million people view Facebook, 20 million view Twitter, and 12 million view LinkedIn. But if you don’t know which network your audience frequents or if can’t find them there, it doesn’t help.
Here are a few quick tips on how to find your audience on social media networks.
Query “What social networks do you use?” from polls, blogs, e-newsletters, any social media network you’re already on, or anywhere you’re already in contact with your audience so you can find where your efforts will be most productive.
Search keywords related to your publication in Facebook’s search tool and Twitter's advance search. You can friend/follower people whose profiles match these keywords and join groups related to these words so fans/followers can find you.
The paid service TwitterHawk or free Twitter tool Tweetbeep automates some of this work by monitoring your selected keywords and sending you an email summary at regular intervals.
Friend/Follow Your Competitors’ Followers. If a user is following them, they should be interested in your content as well.
Use Mr. Tweet for Twitter. It’s a free service that finds users who interact with people you follow and may be interested in the same things. A link to their profile lets you quickly log-in and follow them.
Of course, you can’t find everyone on every network. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to help them find you. I’ll write about some cool tips and tricks for helping your audience find you in my next post.
Well written with some good tips!
ReplyDeleteGreat practical advice- thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks... I wonder at times if the "social media" craze isn't a little hyperbolic. It seems like a good way of keeping in touch with the already committed-- but not as good for luring in new readers. Or maybe that's my reaction to hearing the glut of claims about what Facebook and Twitter can do...
ReplyDeleteGood tips. What a lot to slog through to find fame. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTo Rob's point, I do wonder whether you're (as in the Company/Organization) preaching to the choir. But, I also think Rob's friend might see that he became a fan of Claymonster Pottery and decide to check it out. So, based on those sorts of updates, you do have the potential to reach some new people.
ReplyDeleteGlad everyone enjoyed the advice!
ReplyDeleteRob and Media Proofreader: Interesting discussion about preaching to the choir. Anecdotally, Twitter and Facebook seem to allow pubs to have more face time with the readers they do have-- as in presenting these committed readers with content at 2 a.m. when they're browsing Facebook-- as well as helping reach their like-minded friends. Even if Twitter and Facebook only help increase current readers interaction with the publication, I think it's worthwhile. What publication wouldn't want a more involved community constantly posting and responding to new content on their site?