You have become what you deem as a master of Social Media -you have a nice number of followers, your prose is pithy and engaging, but yet something is still missing... that continued "engagement" with your audiences.

Well, don't fret you are not alone!  Studies show that while nearly 2 billion people are connected via smart phones, there is still a very interesting conundrum;  how can you compete with so much noise out there?  How could you be effective with your message and be heard through the massive trees in the overgrown forest that is Social connectivity?  Sometimes it's as simple as tempering the message to hit that right customer, at the right time.

One thing that you should consider is identifying free or low cost tools to increase your Social Media effectiveness.  One example that I use is TweetDeck. This gives insight into who is following our accounts, if and when we need to jump on a response, real-time conversations, and best of all its free!

Savvy social media folks will tell you that it's constantly changing, it's iterative and that topics
constantly evolve.  We've experienced it with the Marketing Velocity Program, but alas there is seemingly one concept that continues to reign true with brilliant Social topics -Storytelling!   We are all human!  It's so much more effective to offer something relatable that could blossom into a sharable similar experience or a cautionary tale to social circles.

Here is a very simple example.  Imagine a high tech company wants to introduce, "A new collaboration product that will help you be more effective doing stuff..."  Well what if that introduction was changed to, "To see the look on my parents face when I told them I went skydiving - would have been priceless! Don't miss those moments again with the Collabor-8-Shun."   Then keep that conversation going with a series of "stories" focused on missed moments.  See where storytelling can take you as an adjunct to your typical and hopefully effective marketing programs.  Once you have that idea hatched, use the Social Media tools to understand when your audiences are most active.  Then test the waters by engaging with your social circle.

Even if you are the master of your social domain, expanding your horizons with new and interesting content is a great exercise to remain fresh with your audiences.  Stay connected with your audiences, but when possible try to stay personal -not like crazy personal (that's just weird), but show through your stories and connections that your audience is important to you!

Furthermore, I just want to add that your customers are getting information in new ways, and that changes how you market to them. The Cisco Marketing Velocity program offers training, insight from industry experts and the Marketing Velocity Hub gives you access to best practices to help you reach customers effectively.

Links used:

• 8 Ways to Become a Better Storyteller Through Social Media
• Marketing Velocity Hub
• 7 Free Tools That Will Shave Hours Off Social Media Management

Questions? Comments? As always, I encourage you to leave your feedback below. Your input is more valuable than mine!