Photo by happeningfish

Everyone likes a card; not everyone likes an e-card. Everyone likes a personal message; not everyone likes a “mass message.” Why?
…Because you need to get a little more personal. Messages to the masses are just not cutting it these days. Gone are the days when we knew little about our audiences and one general message would work to target everyone (the blanket approach). We know more about our audiences than we ever have and messages that are irrelevant are not going to get you anywhere (but give a reputation of being distasteful and “spam-ish”…and no one wants to be labeled with that dirty four letter word).
A message with a personalized name or mention to a specific attribute (without being creepy) goes a long way. Consumers are inundated with messages and will only be listening to the ones they chose to hear—and those are the messages, which cut through the clutter because they are relevant and personal. And if you are honest and transparent, well by gosh you have cracked the code to social media success!

To use social media to get a little more personal, here are a few tips:

• Use video to send personalized and/or relevant messages. Mark my words, video will be a huge deal in 2010. Sending a simple inbox message on Facebook, which is a video from the executive of company personally thanking you, goes a long way. Companies will also be featuring everyone from their CEO to their customer service representatives to their executives to show the depth of their company. People within companies will appreciate since it will give them recognition and those on the outside will subliminally understand the interworking of the business and all of the people who make it happen. The transparency and honestly in videos (serious or funny) will have a huge impact on customer perception and brand respect.
• Listen and respond directly. When monitoring the chatter and noticing specific mentions (as a tweet, Facebook update or comment, blog comment, etc.) address the specific comment directly from the brand. Use what was said and make it known that the response is personalized. Users appreciate the recognition and the response from the brand can have a huge impact.

There are other ways to be personal, but the important concept to remember is that if the message isn’t personal or relevant, chances are it won’t be heard.

Jen Cohen is a social media and marketing maven knocked down many times in 26 yrs. Something Creative http://somethingcreativemarketing.com

Tags: community, companies, conversation, credibility, customers, Marketing, Social Media, social networking, Strategy, the right way