How to Avoid White-Noise Marketing

We were talking as a staff in our FaithHappenings.com meeting, about marketing and social media and how much white noise is filling up Facebook and Twitter especially. Everyone wants a chance for their voice to be heard, but none of us really want to pay attention. As consumers we are constantly bombarded with deals we should take advantage of, the latest giveaway to enter, the newest site to sign up for (though, please, please go sign up for our FaithHappenings.com site—I promise you will not be disappointed. ;-), the latest and greatest constantly in giant all-caps and flashy billboards. Unless something truly captures our attention, most likely we’re not going to pay much attention and just keep on scrolling.

At least I know I am guilty of this habit.

So how do we grab the attention of the consumer we are trying to reach? Each platform is going to be handled a bit differently, but I’ll tackle Facebook and Twitter right now with a side of Pinterest and Google+ thrown in.

Facebook: DON’T post your agenda all the time. In fact, I only post on Facebook a couple times a week—not a couple times a day. When you post less often, you actually become something of a novelty when you do finally post. You’re a fresh face in a sea of constant posters and most likely people are going to pay more attention. (Note: this concept is a good idea for personal profile pages. Fan pages require a different strategy and more frequent postings to avoid falling off your fan’s radar)

Twitter: DO post your agenda more often. Don’t, however, push a constant promotion. Twitter feed is constantly changing and moving so it’s a good idea to keep your face, and different, fresh content in front of your followers. For every 1-2 tweets about your product, be sure and share 3-4 either retweets and content that is not pushing one particular point or agenda.

Pinterest: If you are a business or an author who is trying to promote reviews, products, etc keep it to one to two pins a day of that particular felt need. Too much of the same thing will just annoy the follower and they will scroll faster or worse—unfollow you.

Google+: Chances are you are going to have many crossover followers on Facebook as you do on Google+. If you have a gmail account—and many do, you automatically have a Google+ account. Build your circles, find material you can share publically. You can share the same information as you did on Facebook and Twitter, but find a different, fresh way of sharing it. And remember—vary business with 

pleasure/personal. People want to get to know you, not just a promotion pusher. ie: white noise creator.

Need some other ideas to avoid being social media white noise?

Be funny. Have a sense of humor. Don’t post long updates. The shorter, the absolute better. Don’t carry a negative point of view on all your posts. Be positive. Avoid links.

Yes, I am telling you to include fluff in your marketing campaigns. We are a society surrounded by depressing worries. If you truly want to be noticed, be encouraging. Speak into people’s needs. Make them laugh. Build a brand awareness around who you are and what you’re offering that is unique, short, to the point and meaningful.

Seems like a tall order to fill!

But once you get the hang of it, it becomes more second nature than something that has to be over-thought.

Remember the key points: Facebook—don’t post all the time. Twitter—you have more freedom, so share and have fun. Build a rapport with your followers. Pinterest—let this become an extension of who you are. Google+ --provide fresh content separate from what you post on the other social media platforms as chances are, you will have many of the same followers across all platforms.

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She is a total country girl, now living in a metropolis of Denver, Colorado.