Promoting a brand or business via social networks can be a tricky task. Even the slightest bit of misrepresentation across the internet could result in countless numbers of disinterested fans and consumers.. and putting a bad taste in their mouths could be a difficult thing to recover from.

While reading the Wall Street Journal, I came across an article written by Ms. Emily Maltby, addressing the importance of keeping a firm grip of your brand and business’s relevancy across social networks. In this issue, Twitter will be our target focus.

The first main point that was highlighted was :

• The need for your brand to be seen in a personal way. 

According to marketing consultant, Paul Chaney, People can better relate to people more than they do a business. Using your social media presence in a way that seems more intimate with your “followers” will eliminate the superiority of that business and it can get right down to their level of communication. Truth is, you don’t want your followers to feel like they can never [@talktoyou].. 

Another important highlighted point was :

• The need to target your audience.

Staying relevant in your respective industry can be quite an arduous journey, but a sure fire way to make sure you stay in the fire is if your target audience knows you’re talking to them!

Derek Capo, chief executive of Next Step China LLC. A Miami-based firm that helps arrange opportunities to study, volunteer and work in China, says he spends 10-20 hours a month on LinkedIn, finding and messaging potential customers. Mr Capo posts messages to 50 LinkedIn “groups” he thinks may be interested in his company’s services- such as teaching and language groups- customizing the message for each audience.

A key thing that Mr. Capo did was identified his target demographic and directly reached out to whom he believed would most likely respond to his business and take advantage of its services.

Now the next key point made was :

• The importance of [NOT] being too promotional.

It may seem counterintuitive.. [says Paul Chaney] but overtly promotional content, such as sweepstakes, special offers and contests, should be only 10% of what your company’s fans and “followers” see..

When a company or brand is constantly all about ME ME ME, it can be a quick turn off and I’m sure you’ll get the message as your number of “followers” decreases.

Aside from the 10% devoted to your promotional tweets, about 70% should be information useful to your followers. That information could consist of captivating conversation, links to blogs and other articles that support your brand’s message.

The remaining 20% should be other followers’ social content; retweets for example. Allow people to feel a part of what you’re doing. Show them that they matter still, indirectly, proving that your brand or business is worth their attention. Once someone loses interest, it’ll be twice as hard trying to gain it back.

Lastly, the final point that was made was :

• It’s not all about the sales.

For the small business that has a desperate need for a larger staff, social media could better serve as a staffing venture. You may be in an industry in which you’re selling items, such as clothing.. but you might not have a reasonable amount of people to manufacture, ship, and market your products. 

Hastings Water Works, a pool-maintenance and lifeguard staffing firm in Brecksville, Ohio uses Twitter to find employees for the Summer.

We used to put ads in the paper and fliers in the high schools, but now we can tweet, ‘Here’s a great summer job’ and link to the application page,” says David Hastings, who founded the firm in 1992.

It’s clearly evident that a social network such as Twitter can be an incredibly influential force for the life of a brand or business. Keeping them relevant in the midst of the cacophony of sales pitches we see and hear daily could potentially propel them in becoming the next big thing!