Thanks to fast emerging social media platforms and social media competitors, businesses live under the constant threat of digital Darwinism – a concept that identifies the growing struggle brands encounter keeping up with the new wave of social media, tech-based marketing and brand reputation management tactics.

Last week, we discussed how your business can combat one aspect of digital Darwinism with an effective, SEO-strong website. This week we’ll talk about how your social media presence can help you stay on trend and at the top of the food chain.
4 ways to adapt the right way
Social media isn’t important because corporations and small businesses deem it so. It’s important because consumers do. Today’s consumer expects a different level of service from their brands of choice. The law of supply and demand applies, and the supply of industry competitors often runs high.
If you decide to combat digital Darwinism and bring your brand onto the social media landscape, take these four steps to adapt your company voice and image the right way, to the right medium – or risk getting eaten alive:

  1. Understand your target market and what social media networks most attract them. Are you aiming at professionals on LinkedIn? Techies on Google+? Fan clans on Twitter?
  2. Depending on your business, you could use referral based web networks to learn what people are saying about you and your competition. How can you step your reputation up a notch?
  3. Follow app trends. Look for what your customer base is voluntarily buying, checking and updating to better understand the content that resonates with them and how they prefer to be informed.
  4. Use geolocation and rating networks like Facebook and Foursquare to track where top preferred customers are going and why.

lead the pack
“Many follow, but few lead.
Many compete to survive, but few compete for relevance.”
Just because you have a social media presence, doesn’t guarantee your company won’t fall behind. Put in the time and invest in the resources to develop realistic and brand appropriate strategies to emerge as an industry voice leader. Top of the mind awareness can only be achieved with hard work and creative thinking. Don’t shirk the small stuff. Make your social network survival and prosperity a priority.

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