Almost 23 years old and fresh out of college, I consider myself to be pretty “with it” when it comes to using social media. This shouldn’t be too surprising considering my generation craves constant social interaction. But, staying in-the-know about the people, places, and products we care about is also an important motivator for us to use social media.
People my age are an exciting group to market to. We’re receptive to new things and love learning more about products we’re interested in. But, this doesn’t give companies a free pass to ambush us with unwanted sales messages.
Like most people my age, I don’t “follow” (Twitter talk) or “like” (Facebook talk) many companies. I prefer to keep my social networking pages just that: social. I don’t like to log in and see my news feed filled with self-serving posts that are trying to sell me something. This being said, the few companies that I do interact with on Facebook and Twitter I connect with because they abide by the rules of social media marketing. The most important of these rules, never bombard your audience with pitchy sales messages, is the one I’m most picky about. I already get my fill of advertisements from TV and the radio; I’m not looking for it on my social networks.
I love The Green Mill Restaurant. My absolute favorite place to eat, The Green Mill is a business that I definitely want to stay in-the-loop with. Still, I spent weeks teetering over the “like” button for their fan page on Facebook. I spent a lot of time debating whether signing up for their updates was worth the endless stream of advertisements I was setting myself up for. In the end, though, I eventually sucked it up and clicked on that “like” button. And, you know what? I was pleasantly surprised.
Instead of just using them as free advertising channels, The Green Mill created a community full of interaction around their fan pages. Not only do they encourage dialogue between followers, they also interact with and respond to posts. This is important because it makes me feel like they care about my opinion and value me as a customer. They also hold fun contests for gift cards, Twins baseball packages, and even iPads. Although they still post sales messages, these messages are surrounded by posts of relevant content that is interesting to me. By the time I see a post about that night’s specials or a new menu item, I don’t mind that I’m being advertised to. My trust in Green Mill has already been established, thus making me want that new Asian Chicken Wrap they just told me about even more.
Natalie Moritz, Communications Intern
