How to Get Feedback from Your Social Media Audience

Social media is all about being social, right?

So why not take the time to ask your following a question every now and then?

You can gain valuable feedback by taking the questions you need answered directly to the people who matter most.

Here's how:

1. Product Purchasing

If you're in a product business, you want to buy the items that are most likely to sell. So by including your social media audience in the buying process, you can both

A) Make your audience realize you value their opinions

B) Start adding new products to your store that are more likely to sell.

ModCloth does a great job of this with their "Be The Buyer" program that allows online users to vote on which items they want to see in store.

2. Promotions

There's no better way to find out which marketing strategy works best than by coming right out and asking. Ask your audience what they like best in terms of:

• Types of promotions (free shipping, percentage off, etc.)

• Time and frequency of promotions (Black Friday deals, monthly promotions for email subscribers)

• Referral systems (Refer a friend and get X free, points for purchases)

3. Company Improvements

We all know that social media users are more than happy to share their negative reviews when things go poorly, but being proactive and asking your social media audience how you can improve customer service, website usability, and more means you can get out in front of those negative reactions.

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Not all of us have the time and staff resources to be proactive on social media. That's where we can help.

Get in touch—asking questions is always free.

5 Tools & Resources You Should be Using on Twitter

We're creatures of habit, us humans.

We fall into a routine, and sometimes miss out on the shiny new tools and features that make the experience of using social networks easier and more effective.

Like with Twitter, for example. You probably send out tweets with links and photos on a regular basis. If so, you're using Twitter much in the same way the other 284 million active monthly users are.

But if you want to mix things up a bit and spend less time composing messages, there are some handy tools you can use to make the experience even better. Let's take a look.

1. More photos

Instead of one main image associated with your tweet, you can now upload up to four images to in one tweet that will display as a collage. Not only does this provide more diversity to your visuals, but it opens up storytelling opportunities that don't take away from your 140 characters.

2. Shortcuts

Writing a tweet just got faster. Using the shortcuts keyboard, you can navigate your way around using simple commands rather than clicking around until you find the right place.

3. Advanced search

Getting more specific about your search terms with the help of Advanced Search means you can get right to the information you're looking for. This tool is great for looking for relevant conversations about your product or service nearby, keeping an eye on competitors, and more.

4. Muted accounts

Have some noisy people clogging up your dashboard? By muting select accounts, you tune out the unwanted (and un-relevant) information from their conversations without having to unfollow anyone.

5. Twitter Cards

Twitter Cards allow users to attach rich photos, videos, and other media experiences to tweets to drive traffic to their website or create leads. We've used Twitter Cards to drive signups for our email newsletter and can attest to their power.

There you have it. Now go out, break up that normal content, and start zipping your way around Twitter.

How to Take Content Marketing Offline

So, say you've created an excellent content marketing strategy. Your blog posts are insightful, your social media is engaging, you're offering free materials in exchange for a reader's email address, and you're collecting more leads than ever before. Well done.

But now that you've created this beautiful marketing machine, have you considered taking some of those materials and using them offline? As in, sharing your resources directly with an audience in real life?

You can repackage your content marketing materials and present them in a whole new light when your audience is sitting in front of you.

Here's how:

1. Take lunch meetings

Have a potential client or two that's still on the fence about working with you?

If the distance isn't too far, make the reach and offer to sit down in person with him/her to go over how you could work together. This is an opportunity to educate the client(s) by sharing some of the information you've included in your content marketing. Since an on the fence client is in the midpoint of the sales funnel, work from that stage in your content marketing plan to help encourage them to follow through.

2. Be a Public Speaker

Have you found an opportunity for you to share your expertise? Then go for it.

Speaking at conferences, meetings, and in front of organizations helps you share the knowledge you've collected from your industry and also positions you as an expert. Later, when someone at one of those speaking engagements needs experience in your unique industry, they'll think of you.

3. Teach

One of the most powerful ways you can share your knowledge is to actually go out and teach it to others. Now, you don't have to give away all of your trade secrets. But pull from the material in that great eBook you put together or spend some time training people how to use a handy tool you've created. Often times, there are associations, local colleges, and clubs who would love to have you come share your expertise.

4. Offer Consulting Sessions

Sometimes a client doesn't need your help on an ongoing basis. They really just want to pick your brain. This could be a time when you provide an in-depth walk through of a content marketing piece, or even a time to build a strategy together. By offering in person consulting sessions for 1-3 hours, you're creating an opportunity for both parties to get what they need. You charge an hourly rate, and they get only the information they're after. No frills, no fuss.

Your content marketing materials can still be impactful outside their natural habitat. All you have to do is put them to work.