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Sunday, January 30, 2011

42 Ways Retailers Can Improve Their Presence on Social Media

We've just returned from presenting social media seminars at some of our favorite trade shows. Retailers attended the sessions in large numbers as they were looking for tips and tactics on how to create social media strategies for their businesses in 2011. Based on the excitement and energy from the sessions, I can't wait to see the exciting ways that retailers will engage customers using Facebook, Twitter and so many other social media tools this year!

Whether it was the San Francisco Gift show, Philadelphia Gift Show, or the Snow Show in Denver, we were constantly getting asked about how to improve engagement and performance using social media. With all this interest in learning how to create the right type of engagement, we thought we'd repost our 42 tips on how to improve your social media presence. We hope you find it helpful.

1. Be Remarkable - Somebody Worth Making A Remark About
2. Sharing is Caring. Become A Trusted Resource for your Fans and Followers
3. Have Your Own Unique Brand Personality
4. Be Vocal And Opinionated – Politely, of course - Within The Community
5. Don’t Flood Followers With Requests. Follower Fatigue is Not What you Want!
6. Invest Time Into Social Media – Have A Strategy And Stick To It!
7. Produce And Share Content That YOUR AUDIENCE Will Love
8. Listen To What’s Being Said. Monitor Constantly. Respond Regularly
9. Become A Real Member Of The Community
10. Ask and Answer Questions - constantly
11. Provide Value To The Community
12. Get People Thinking- And Talking. Be Controversial when Appropriate.
13. Create Your Own Voice. Me Too doesn't Work in Social Media.
14. Contribute Regularly. Schedule Posts If Neccessary To Remain Present.
15. Don’t Be Negative—Or A Jerk. Neither One Works In Social Media.
16. Make It Easy For People To Share And Bookmark Your Content
17. Listen To The Community
18. Make At Least One New Connection Every Day
19. Engage Yourself In Conversations
20. Become The Conversation
21. You’re There To Make Relationships, Not Hard Selling
22. Take Time To Focus On Building A Loyal Following
23. Give, Give, GIVE!
24. Treat Social Media Like A Cocktail Party
25. Be Supportive
26. Syndicate Your Content Across All Social Media Platforms
27. Encourage Others To Syndicate Your Content Onto Their Sites
28. Fully Research The Community To Understand Your Market
29. Be Fun
30. Get To Know The Unwritten Laws Of The Community
31. Create An Attractive, Unique And Professional Profile
32. Use A Cool Avatar/Picture
33. Use The Same Avatar For Each Social Media Service
34. Don’t Disparage Others ( No Trash Talking Allowed)
35. Know What Your Followers/Friends Want And Give It To Them
36. Form Reciprocal Arrangements With Others
37. Monitor Your Noise Level
38. Never Cheat The System
39. Help Others Unconditionally
40. Be Yourself
41. Gain Credibility. Establish Trust.
42. START TODAY

There are certainly more ways than we have time to list, but we hope it's a start. If you have others, please leave a comment and tell us how you are successfully engaging your customers. (and don't forget to leave us your fan page or twitter address so we can follow you too!)

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