Have you noticed, especially lately, that social media has made people, business and companies less social? With all of the availability of digital means to connect clients to brands, and potential customers to products, there’s less and less of a chance for people to connect face to face.
But, once that’s recognized, one way to take your marketing to the next level, is by using social media not just to engage virtually, but in the real world as well. To accomplish this, consider the following five ways to merge them together, including finding real places to meet, following Twitter hashtags to real locations, using meet up apps, using non-editable platforms like Snapchat, and remembering the importance of the physical handshake.
Find a Real Place To Meet
While you don’t have a whole lot of control when it comes to where potential clients or customers are researching you or your company digitally, when you meet in a real place, there are some things that you control. Find a place with some modern seating and a cool bar setup and learn to use your marketing tactics face to face with a real person. It doesn’t really matter what the meeting is about. It could be informational or just casual. But the point is to solidify some aspect of your product with a person by giving them a true proximity effect.
Follow Twitter Hashtags To Real Locations
Twitter is great for a lot of location-based things. For instance, if there’s a music festival going on, you can follow the trending hashtags on Twitter and look through short Tweets or pictures that people are putting out, and actually walk your two little feet to that location. If you put yourself (and your brand) in the middle of a digital trend, you can either report on it, or interact with people there in a truly physical marketing process.
Use Meetup Apps
Meetup apps are interesting as well when it comes to marketing and merging with the social media concept. By installing these Meetup apps, you’re working to bring people together to meet in a real location, but discuss things that you set up online. If you’re aware that the meet is for business reasons, then everyone will come prepared and be on the same page, especially about things like branding and online marketing techniques.
Use Non-Editable Platforms Like Snapchat
An interesting addition to the social media spectrum has been real-time, unedited recordings that are automatically put into the social stream. Two good examples are Periscope and Snapchat, and as big brands are figuring out how to use that real-time, real location concept to their advantage, the virtual-social balance is changing along with it.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Handshake
It’s important to understand as a marketer, whether you’re primarily into marketing via the virtual arena, website traffic, or social sites, that a handshake can be more important than all of the digital impressions in the world.
