Can’t buy me love

Who falls for these things?

USocial is a service that has promised in the past to bring its customers scads of Twitter followers and is now jumping into the business of bringing the masses to Facebook fan pages, according to a recent AdAge article.

Is it just me, or is paying for fans and followers in social media the equivalent of a band paying to pack the club it’s playing tonight?

Think about it… OK, so the club is packed to the gills. The band comes on stage and starts to play. It’s actually really good! But…no one in the club cares. Not a single toe tapping or head bopping in the crowd. At best, they politely sip their drinks, keep the chatter to a minimum and don’t throw stuff at the band members. With every song, the band tries harder and harder to get the crowd groovin’, but it receives no feedback, just blank stares and chirping crickets. When the concert is over, the people leave and go about their business.

The next day, not a single concert-goer tells a friend what they did the night before. No one goes onto iTunes and buys the band’s songs, and the band can forget about getting any of those folks to come see it in another venue in the future.

In the end,  the band feels defeated and the members wonder if they can go on chasing the rock-star dream.

What should they have done instead? And how does this apply to building a social media following for your brand? Here’s a better option:

1. Find the fans you have. Tell them where you’re playing. Sincerely acknowledge their presence, and maybe even give them something special for attending your show.

Social Media Application: Use your existing marketing channels to promote your efforts in social media. Engage deeply with the early adopters as they are the key to your future growth. Make them feel special (because they are!) with exclusive offers or products.

2. Even if there are only a few people in the audience, put on the best show that you can – something people will talk about the next day. Encourage them to spread the word.

Social Media Application: Create (or aggregate) content that wows your fans. Make it shareable. On Facebook, use the publisher to update your status and share photos, videos and stories. Don’t underestimate the power of users “likes” or comments - their friends are listening.

3. Listen to your fans. If they don’t like the song you just played, try something new.

Social Media Application: Engage. Solicit feedback. Silence is a good indicator that you are not hitting the mark. Establish metrics and keep an eye on the types of content and engagement that produce the most feedback from your fans. (Facebook Fan Pages have all of these measures built in.)

4. Understand that you’ll be playing smaller venues for a while, but if you follow the above steps, you’ll soon be packing them in.

Social Media Application: Be patient. Sustained organic growth of your follower and fan base will ensure you are reaching the most targeted consumers with the most appropriate messages. Don’t fall for the easy way out of paying for your fans.

(The blog post above was reprinted from the Cone Brand Channeler Blog)