We thought that the readers of this blog might be interested in hearing about Mashable’s list of ‘9 Non-Profits That Get Web Humour‘. This list certainly makes for fun reading, but it also serves as a warning that every business or organisation seeking online social media interaction should heed.
With any type of advertising or marketing, traditional or cutting-edge, offline or online, you need to relate to your target audience. After all, if they don’t pay any attention to what you’re saying, you are unlikely to get the desired increase in sales that made you invest in marketing in the first place. This idea doesn’t seem difficult to grasp for businesses who are operating and marketing themselves in the offline world. Television and print ads are frequently designed and implemented with a particular demographic in mind. It’s rare to see toy adverts on TV during school hours, for example. Ads for makeup or other cosmetic goods always feature conventionally attractive actors. In other words, these efforts are tailored to the customer and to the medium, ensuring that the advertiser is able to obtain maximum value from his investment.
Unfortunately, companies which trade online continue to use the very same tactics that they always have, or simply don’t bother with internet marketing at all. Because there is such a huge potential market available, it’s crucial to maximise the benefit that any internet presence can give to your company. This means that you have to know what sort of person is going to be interested in browsing your site, where they are going to ‘hang out’ online, and how you are going to engage with them in a language that they will both understand and wish to engage with. Humour can be a key part of this, and the internet is home to all sorts of inside jokes and conventions that can be leveraged to encourage conversation.
We know that our clients are too busy running businesses to stay online all day, learning the ins and outs of online etiquette. That’s why we do the work for them by offering social media management services. We know what works and what doesn’t – so leave it with us.