The "Science" Behind Social Media

Let's face it, social media is now the hotspot for advertising and increasing your brand's popularity. It doesn't matter if you're a fan of the technological revolution or not, but if your company doesn't effectively promote itself it will be swallowed up by the newsfeed. Brands can make the mistake of being too aggressive in their social media endeavors as well as too timid. There's a happy medium between the two. More importantly than just how often you post, the content and strategy of each post is crucial to having social media success. "It’s about having a strategy for making your company or organization more like a person and less like a machine. It’s about humanization" (Jay Baer). So how is this done? Well everyone likes scoring a deal, no matter what the circumstance. Offering discounts or free accessories will always help gain popularity, but what separates the most successful social media users from the rest? 
Companies today employ people for the sole purpose of social media exposure. These people meet and discuss the best ways to promote their product on various sites. As said before, offering free deals or discounts is a great way to up your stock on social media, but there's something else that takes the connections with your customers/followers deeper. With so many different social media types, it's crucial to find what's best for your company. For example, vine may be a great way of promoting a sports team, but not for a furniture store. Choosing what's best is also impacted by the audience you're trying to reach. Linkedn is great for companies in search of employers as it's a much more formal type of social media, whereas twitter isn't the ideal place to search for potential employers. 
There are endless strategies to becoming successful on social media, but one of the crucial things to remember is to not overthink it. It only takes a few shares before something can be spread all around the world. Be as personable as you can to create a connection with your audience, and don't post too often, maybe then you'll be able to stand out. 


When someone famous mentions you in a tweet or has some type of personal interaction with you, you get excited, right? The more personal connections a brand can make with their customers, the more loyal they'll become. We'll be content with winning a free prize, but we feel appreciated or cared about when a more 'human' response is given. Even if it takes a split second for a company to tweet at someone, it goes a very long way. For not only does the person mentioned feel like an appreciated customer, but if they are to retweet or reply, all of their followers will see it as well. Making one connection can lead to hundreds, even thousands more.