Vince Lombardi Gives Social Media Marketing Advice [Quotes]

Vince Lombardi: What A Superbowl hero can teach social media marketersDid you know that you can learn social media lessons from Vince Lombardi?

Vince Lombardi is considered one of the greatest football coaches of all time. He won five NFL Championships including Super Bowls I and II during his time coaching the Green Bay Packers.

Here are 7 social media lessons from Vince Lombardi, a Super Bowl hero.

7 Vince Lombardi Social Media Lessons You Can Use

Use these 7 social media lessons from Vince Lombardi. Each one is based on a quote of his.

Vince Lombardi’s 1st Social Media Lesson:
“The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor
.”

While social media experts make it look easy, they achieved their position through hard work and ongoing engagement because, on social media, people have shorter memories. (Although, take care with what you post on social media platforms since employers and others may check your past activity and make judgments about you.

One of  the key attributes of social media is:
Everyone has the ability to leverage these platforms to accomplish their goals by building a community of like-minded people and amplifying their message out to a larger audience.

Actionable Social Media Tip:

  • Build your community on social media by helpings others, not promotion. In the process, you grow an audience that supports you.  As Orbit Media’s Andy Crestodina says, “The biggest value of social media is building your tribe!”

Vince Lombardi’s 2nd Social Media Lesson:

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

As social media platforms continue to evolve and change, it’s not surprising that you may not know the acceptable ways to engage with other people and businesses. Therefore it’s important to approach social media with an open mind and a willingness to help others.

If you represent a business,  engage on the platforms where your customers spend their time. Also, let your followers know when you’ll be available to engage and respond to them. This is particularly important for social media customer service.

Actionable Social Media Tip:

  • Understand what’s acceptable to post and communicate on each different social media platform. As your mother taught you, mind your manners so that you don’t step on prospects, customers or the public’s toes. Remember social media isn’t a set of 24/7  ME, ME, ME promotion platforms.

Vince Lombardi’s 3rd Social Media Lesson:

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.”

Without ever having experienced social media, Lombardi described the ethos of social networks where participants pay it forward without expectation of compensation. As part of the social media ecosystem, people help each other.

Actionable Social Media Tip

  • Help and respond to individuals, businesses and other organizations across social media.  You can contribute supportive comments, share other people’s information, and/or take an action, either online or in real life.

Vince Lombardi’s 4th Social Media Lesson:

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”

Social media platforms can be great equalizers since they can enable people with special talents to create and share their work more broadly.

Actionable Social Media Tip

  • Use social media to expand your reach and share your special uniqueness with the world.

Vince Lombardi’s 5th Social Media Lesson:

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

Unlike other forms of media, social media requires ongoing engagement to build your standing and following. Further, you must go beyond fly-by postings and take the time to interact with other people’s posts and comments.

Actionable Social Media Tip

  • Engage on social media on a regular basis. If you have to choose, select one or two key platforms rather than spreading yourself thin across more.
  • Set tailored goals that define what you want to accomplish on each of the social media platforms. Align them with the rest of your marketing goals.

Vince Lombardi’s 6th Social Media Lesson:

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

Social media depends on continual participation and engagement whether you interact as an individual or a business. It’s not a one-time Super Bowl ad.

For most companies and brands, your objective is to build an audience over time. More importantly, you must get your followers to engage with you on owned media. Otherwise, you risk losing them if the social media platform changes or disappears.

Actionable Social Media Tip

  • Schedule time to show up and engage on a regular basis. Plan your social media involvement and interaction for the long term to ensure you maximize the ROI.

Vince Lombardi’s 7th Social Media Lesson:

“Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.”

Your social media managers and consultants need to engage on your key platforms and understand how to interact with each platform’s participants to answer their questions and meet their needs.

Brooke Sellas recommends using social media listening tools to determine what people are saying about your business, industry and competitors. Then use social media customer service to respond appropriately. In her experience, this leads to customer acquisition since you meet customers near their purchase decision.

Actionable Social Media Tips

  • Spend time listening to your prospects, customers and the public on a variety of social media platforms.  Use social listening tools to discover what’s being said about your business, industry and competitors.
  • Use social media to respond to customer service and other inquiries. Otherwise, you risk losing prospects and customers to more agile competitors. If you can’t be available on social media 24/7, let your visitors know when your staff will be available and provide them with alternative methods to contact you.

Vince Lombardi’s Social Media Lessons Conclusion

Just as Vince Lombardi coached his football players, to succeed on social media, you must show up and participate on a regular basis.

Like playing a sport, social media requires regular practice to improve your skills and expand your network.

BTW:  Want more wisdom from Vince Lombardi? Check out his The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi.

Happy Marketing,
Heidi Cohen

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 1, 2013. Since then it has been significantly improved and expanded.

Heidi CohenHeidi Cohen is the President of Riverside Marketing Strategies.
You can find Heidi on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn.

 

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