THE Most Underrated And Critical Skill On Social Media for Your Brand
A well planned social media strategy is really important for success online for a business - a gameplan. Throwing random content at the wall (or the Facebook) just for the sake of posting things will likely be a big waste of time and money and can even hurt your brand. I’ve actually had a brand tell me that they know that’s really all they need - just to post stuff and be there with a presence. It’s a waste.
So, the solution is to know what your brand message is, the rules of engagement for the different platforms, what your demographics are and the best platforms with which to reach them right? As a small business owner you either do it yourself or hire someone with experience - an agency perhaps who can do it for you, and off you go. If you check all of those boxes and post great content it should work right?
Kinda.
Well there’s the engagement piece you say - you need to be social on social media. You have to be there to respond when you get engagement from your community. So if you’ve checked all those boxes we mentioned above and you add engagement you’ll be good to go right?
Probably.
There is one skill I would argue is undervalued and maybe even rarely possessed but when you’ve got it it can make a WORLD of difference. What is it?
It’s FINESSE.
Finesse is a skill - a critical skill. The two top definitions on Merriam-Webster for the word are 1: refinement or delicacy of workmanship, structure, or texture, and 2: skillful handling of a situation : adroit maneuvering. Many business owners don’t have online finesse nor the time to put it into practice. They are direct, they are busy, they are running a business. They may not have the patience for the “maneuvering”. Driver personalities may not be known for or value finesse in their own communication, maybe even to their advantage in many cases. There is no measurable ROI on finesse per se and yet it’s maybe the smartest investment a business can make whether it’s hiring a social media manager who has it or just practicing it and understanding its importance.
Having all the perfect high quality ingredients (product), the best recipe in the world (process / content), and the best kitchen (platform) to make it happen……doesn’t make the best dish happen. Skill and finesse does.
Product, Process, Content and Platform isn’t enough without FINESSE online.
There are nuances to communication online that don’t translate exactly the same way offline. Here are some examples. Emojis - you can use a winky smile emoji 😉 to soften a stern answer ever-so-slightly where you can stand your ground but give a troll an opportunity to save face a bit. Knowing exactly how to play that? That’s finesse. Being able to answer a sarcastic or negative remark in a measured way without emotion and steer the perpetrator towards fandom and ultimately convert them? That takes finesse. Knowing when to just let your fans come to your defense but also knowing when to call them off and let the original commenter know they still have a place in your community - how to “good cop / bad cop” the dialogue? That’s finesse. Knowing the proper information to share or the best link to give someone - where to lead them to convert them to a customer or get them invested in the content so they participate more adding to a more engaged community and increased reach of your content? That’s finesse. Knowing how to be the leader as a part of your online community instead of just posting AT your community? That’s finesse.
Finesse is a difference maker. It separates the good from the great online in building a community. Don’t forget that.
Let me know what you think below - do you agree? Examples of where a lack of finesse was a problem?
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
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