Followers of Daymond John know the Shark Tank star is very active on social media. On occasion, he opens his Facebook page to entrepreneurs to promote their businesses and has been known to tweet out a picture of an alarm clock at a very early hour. Entrepreneur compiled some words of advice from John about the power of social media and how best to use it to increase the bottom line.
There is absolutely no reason that I should still be awake at this time on a Friday! Ugh! pic.twitter.com/SpmQop9iNK
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) March 28, 2015
John says simplicity trumps complexity. Much like a Shark Tank pitch where the benefit of a product should be easy to grasp, a business’ social media message should be to the point without detailed explanation. After all, Twitter is restricted to 140 characters, Facebook is glutted with information, and Instagram is reliant on the power of the image.
Despite the need for simplicity, companies need a brand identity and a story that sets them apart. Entrepreneur provides the example of a Daymond John investment, MVMT watches, that has a simple pitch to consumers: you need a good-looking watch, but you don’t have a lot of money to spend. The company did $2 million in sales in its first year.
The last key to social media success is audience engagement. Asking followers for their opinions not only increases their loyalty to the brand, it is a valuable marketing tool to find out what people like and will buy. John himself did this in a subtle way over the weekend before a red carpet appearance, putting in a plug for the designer Tom Ford over Twitter.
Should I go with the Brown or Black @Tom_Ford shades to Kids Choice awards today? pic.twitter.com/tzf6qerxbv
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) March 28, 2015
While John is providing advice to entrepreneurs in his non- Shark Tank life, the show continues to draw in big ratings for ABC. The network recently announced a spin-off series called Beyond the Tank , which will provide in-depth updates on Shark Tank pitchers. Back in January, Entertainment Weekly reported Beyond the Tank would be a short run series of 10 one-hour episodes. Like Shark Tank , Beyond the Tank is executive produced by Mark Burnett.
Zap2It quoted ABC president Paul Lee back in January about the appeal of the spin-off’s concept.
“It’s going to be stories of people who have been on ‘Shark Tank’ — some of them are emotional, some of them are uplifting, some of them are tragic. It’s going to be great, we’re certainly excited about it. We’re very thoughtful about how we build franchises step by step and we thought it was time now to build another hour of that franchise.”
Shark Tank airs Friday nights.