Social Media Marketing is a great way to get you message, products, and missions out there and engage your customers/patrons. In today’s world there are a million different ways to collect data in order to better understand and utilize your participant’s data. Unfortunately, it is just as easy to go from savvy business person to creepy big brother. Do not fear. There are great ways to get the information you are seeking without alienating your followers!
One of the easiest ways to do this is be honest and straight forward up front. Tell the individuals who are on your sites exactly what to expect. Let them use a social login to see who they know that uses your particular connections. These logins allow people to test the waters without automatically having them sign up with a formal looking form. Watching where and what these individuals do and view on your site can give you a wealth of knowledge that otherwise would have not been available.
Another way to stay on people’s good sides is to avoid killing them with info inquires. Most of what you need to know can be easily gathered from their interests and information from their profiles. Some well known sites such as LinkedIN have more than two hundred queries set into place. This can be a deterrent for some and a missed opportunity to gather great info if they simple do not wish to fool with it and “turn around” without entering the specific area so use your queries wisely. You can always change your criteria later to gain new insight and information.
A friend list can be a great way to gain information as well but be warned; do not step over the privacy boundaries you set. This is a sure fire way to lose participants and potential clients/customers. Look at the public information on who these individuals’ friends are but do not go digging in to private messages and such. This being said; in order to get the information you do want, make clicking yes a way to further customize and refine their experiences on your site. If you maintain this balance you can have more marketing insight than you ever dreamed!