For this second book report we were asked to choose a book related to the field of social media. I chose to read Social Media Success for Every Brand, The Five Story Brand Pillars That Turn Posts Into Profits by: Claire Diaz-Ortiz. Claire Diaz-Ortiz is an American author, speaker and is currently employed by Twitter. This book dives into social media success and what to do to be successful at social media marketing. The book identifies five main pillars that can help make your brand and posts successful. The five points highlighted in the book is what the author calls the SHARE model. SHARE stands for Story, How, Audience, Reach, and Excellence.
The first pillar in the SHARE model is Story. Social media marketing is just really brand marketing and not direct marketing so you want to have a story. Your immediate goal is not to just make sales and profits. You want to move your followers up an engagement ladder then close the story with a call to action. Your content is one of the most important aspects and should represent 80% of your story with the last 20% set aside for the close or call to action.
The next pillar is How. This is about how to post your content. The brand should focus on which platforms matter most by performing a social media evaluation. The fewer the platforms, the better. Who posts matters less than when to post? Use third party tools like Hootsuite, Buffer and Sprout Social for help with scheduling, curating and analytics. Consistency is also important in how to ensure that your social media posting schedule and calendar works best for your target audience’s viewing patterns.
Next is Audience. Social media marketing should be about your audience, not the brand. Your brand is not your hero, the customer is. Also remember that your customer is also your follower and your brand should make sure the content is geared towards them. Generating empathy is important because it builds a relationship with your customers which will result in long term success. Empathy is generated by telling a great story, helping and listening. Social media marketing requires real-time communication. Don’t just post and then ghost.
Up next is Reach. For this section of the pillar, you want to create a social media presence that can increase your authority by prioritizing your social media tribe over new followers whenever possible. Creating good content, using influencer marketing and pay to advertise are all great ways to expand your reach and engagement. Use great hashtags to push your content but keep the hashtag general. Reach influencers in ways they like and are familiar with and don’t rush. It’s a long-term game to find the right one and the correct niche.
Lastly comes Excellence. Here you want to fine-tune your marketing to seek long term excellence. Ask yourself how to get your followers to want in on your story. With the real time of social media and the future, we don’t know what’s always going to happen. So make the best of that and use it to your advantage. Own your mistakes and say so, fast. Gives your customers a public place to comment and share their opinions even if they aren’t that great. If the comments aren’t offensive let them roll on and be a part of it. Always try and turn a negative conversation into a positive one, if you can.
This book is up to date and relevant with social media marketing success information as well as tips and ways to help you become successful in social media. Social media and technology is everywhere so adapting now and learning how to be successful is an advantage. I would recommend this book to anyone that’s interested in understanding ways to be successful in social media. The book focuses down on a simple group of words to define a path to successful marketing for individuals or companies.
