You are in a Relationship with Your Customers. Don't Be Needy.

You know that needy friend who just won't leave you alone? They constantly text or call you, and it's always to ask for something or to talk about their own needs? But they won't listen to you or give you the space you need to breathe, and they don't add any value to your relationship? Or maybe you have that one social media friend who always needs to be the center of attention. Your feed is so over-saturated by their posts and comments that you unfollow or block them... Don't be that friend.

So many companies fall into the trap of becoming that needy friend. They're worried about being forgotten in this modern world of infinite choices, and they constantly feel the need to announce their presence and ask their audience to buy things from them. They lose lots of followers and customers that way. Spamming your audience with too many self-serving posts, emails, and ads will only drive them away. When it comes to social media marketing, remember that your followers are your friends, and friendship goes both ways.

I've been learning about inbound marketing, and the concept is simple: you attract more customers when you create content that's entertaining, educational, and tailored to your audience. In essence, you need to add value to your relationship with your customers. A good rule of thumb to follow is the 80/20 rule of social media marketing: 80% of your content should be entertaining or educational, and 20% should be promotional. For example, I work at a literary venue that's focused on creating a community of storytellers and story-lovers. Roughly 80% of our posts are memes, games, shout-outs, fun facts, and photos of past events. We also post a lot of videos of book readings and interviews with authors. The other 20% of our posts promote our classes and events.

Another adage to keep in mind is "show, don't tell." One way to add value to your relationships with current and potential customers is to establish yourself as their go-to expert in your field or industry. This is where a library of free educational content comes in handy. The best way to show your expertise in a subject is through creating blog posts and videos. Share this content on various platforms and encourage your audience to share it as well. This will help you organically grow your following and show that your friendship is worthwhile.

Finally, it's important to tailor your message to your specific audiences. Just like each of your friends has his or her own unique personality, tastes, and interests, each of your target audiences has a unique need, preference, and way of communicating. Categorizing your audience into specific groups and creating buyer personas for each group will help you empathize with them and identify their needs. You'll also learn how to best communicate with them and meet those needs. At my job, I created basic groups for our customers and an e-blast content calendar categorized by group. This way, each group receives emails and newsletters with information relevant to them, so they're more likely to open the emails and click through them. It also means that each group receives fewer emails every month, so they're less likely to feel spammed.

If you want to be a good friend to your target audiences, remember that friendship goes both ways. Adding value to your relationships with your audiences through entertainment, education, and empathy will create more brand loyalty and more leads. You'll build a strong community of followers who will genuinely appreciate and support your company.