Social media also comes up trumps for personal reasons

I utilised my social media to its greatest extent last week for a personal reason, when my cat went missing! Merlin is a chubby, fluffy, three year old Ragdoll who generally stays close to home. Within a couple of hours of posting his photo on Facebook and sharing into various groups – local area, lost and found, cat lovers, Battersea, PDSA etc, my post had generated over 200 shares and more than 400 comments.

This proves that people engage with information that is meaningful to them on an emotional level; in this case, “tugging the heartstrings” and being neighbourly were the two most common factors.

I also stuck posters on lamp posts and distributed a couple of hundred leaflets through people’s doors – more in line with traditional marketing methods than my first port of call – which, as you know, is always social media. I left no stone unturned.

Cats can get stuck in sheds and garages, so I asked people to check theirs and leave shed doors open, as timid cats won’t emerge if they’re frightened; they prefer to creep out later when they feel safe. Someone must have seen my plea, because on the fourth night I was woken up by a very hungry little cat who promptly ate four bowls full of food.

So why am I telling you this? When you post on social media it’s best to give people information that will make them want to take action. Targeting your prospective clients’ emotions will make them remember you and, as Maya Angelou so rightly said,

“At the end of the day, people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

PS: Next Door

If you’re running a small business – particularly if you work from home, as most of us do at the moment, check out the Next Door app. It’s a buzzing place where neighbours post requests, recommendations and useful information. I’ve found that it’s a contender for Facebook’s news stream and seems to be used by people who may not be on traditional social media. It certainly spurred a lot of activity with updates about Merlin.