New Company Mascot Makes Mark on Social Media!

New mascot says he "Diggs" Social Media.

The Sage Closer's new Mascot has already made his mark,  some say bark, on the world of Social Media! After only one week as the official Mascot of Social Media at our company, this young pup has already “sniffed” out several ways to help companies leverage social media to their advantage. You might say Charlie took to his new role like a blood hound to a trail of prison escapees.

Lest you think this new mascot is all bark and no bite, however, consider that some of Charlie's most favorite social media platforms include FencedIn, MyYard, Digg, PawBook and PoochTube.

Now, don't prejudge Charlie because he's young, cute, furry and pretty much brand new to Social Media. He's actually found out you don't have to be the Alpha Dog of Social Media to begin using it to your advantage. As he says, if you approach it like he did house training, which is to say by some trial and error, you’ll gradually learn the best places to spend your time and get the most positive feedback from your most important audience: your customers!

He does have a few “pointers” to offer small technology companies intent on mastering New Media:

1. Talk to your customers first: how you do it is up to you: call them, send out a survey, (Charlie prefers howling) – just find out how they are using or plan to use Social Media. One of you your primary Social Media strategies should be about building stronger customer relationships, which often has the happy result of gaining more sales and new business referrals. Knowing what your customers are doing on Social Media will allow you to build a more successful online strategy with fewer wrong turns along the way!
2. Stay on message: keep your communications professional and mostly about how you help customers work smarter, faster, etc. Just like Charlie sticking to his daily diet of Purina Dog Chow, you should stick to your core marketing message in hopes of connecting with your customers or prospects when the time is right.
3. Make it interesting: keep your shared content interesting and fresh. Offer up the occasional Social Media treats to keep you followers intrigued, pleased and coming back for more. In Charlie’s words, it “keeps their tails wagging!”
4. Be persistent: if you decide that Twitter (Charlie prefers Woofer) is your Social Media tool of choice, then dedicate a resource (your time or somebody else’s) to build up your following and reputation for good content. Beware of being too “salesy” on Social Media as it may prompt others to tune you out. There’s nothing wrong with extolling the virtues of your company, but do it in a way that shines the light on positive results you've had with customers, not your company.
5. Target the right market: make sure the market you’re going after is a good fit for your company’s products or services. Just like Charlie would never offer peonies to a Doberman Pincher, so should you know your ideal customer demographic and what it wants to hear from you.
6. Create a following: you need to find ways to grow the number of followers of your company. To do this, you should figure out where your ideal customers hang out (you will know that from #1 above) then target those virtual locations to pick up new contacts. Tell your new contacts you have helpful information to share because you’re an expert at what you do for their industry. They may need to “sniff” your company out first, but Charlie says that’s to be expected.
7. Build a community: make your Social Media tools into mini-communities where your followers can give and take information, either from you or from other members. This will deepen the customer experience and improve customer loyalty. Now Charlie knows a thing or two about sharing, for instance he shares his favorite ball with anybody who likes to play catch! If you hold an annual customer conference, then you may want to incorporate Twitter into the mix by adding give-aways to the first customers who answer trivia questions you post during the conference. It's an effective way at getting your customers used to using a new technology to communicate with you, and vice-versa.
8. Give out freebies: this is one of Charlie’s favorites because, well, he likes to get free doggie treats. You should be prepared to expend some of your resources coming up with treats for your new following. White papers, helpful blog postings, technical advice – all can be enticements that keep you in the mind of your customers and prospects. Since by now you’re probably targeting a specific customer demographic, be sure you tailor your offerings by addressing concerns common to that particular industry.

Now that you’ve been enlightened by Charlie’s brand of Social Media, you should join his “pack” of devotees by becoming a fan of The Sage Closer on Facebook, following Charlie’s human buddy, Dave Manzer, on Twitter or LinkedIn, or just responding back to this blog posting. Charlie wants you to put Social Media to work for you. Hey, if a cute and furry puppy can become a Social Media star, so can you!