If there's one thing that is crucial when it comes to social media marketing it's this: Log in regularly and be active. Obviously, if you do this you will be seen by more people, more often. Surely a good thing. You'll also be rewarded indirectly by these social networks. This is because your activity infuses your profile with a kind of pulse. The sites' internal algorithms will factor this in, making you more visible to others using them.

Nowhere is this clearer than on Linkedin. Whenever I log in repeatedly and am active on this site for a while -- particularly in the discussion groups -- I get connection requests in the days afterwards. Makes sense, of course, since I've just put my profile in front of more people.

Also, on the right hand side is a little section that tells me how I am fairing in searches. If I have not been active, this says my profile appeared in less of them than it had before. If I have been active it says I've appeared in more of them. Basically, it goes up and down like a yo-yo according to this activity. Now, it is possible that this could be due to an unrelated factor, and the correlation is just coincidental. But I seriously doubt it. I've observed this phenomenon several times since I joined the site.

Something similar happens on Facebook. As we all know, likes are the currency of that site. If you don't keep reaching out to other pages by liking and engaging with them, as well as posting updates to your own page, you almost disappear from view entirely! You'll notice a massive drop in the rate at which your page gains new likes.

That said, you'll still get a few trickling in during the ensuing weeks. And the longer you've had your page up, and been active with it, the frequency of these likes during your inactivity gradually increases. 

So on Facebook, as with Linkedin, there's the immediate, human effect. And there's the long term, residual, algorithmic effect. Since you've racked up more social media "cool points", the network makes you more findable in searches, etc.

Now, unless you worked super hard for ages to build your followings on these two networks -- as well as paid for ads to lift your profiles even more -- I doubt you'd ever reach a point of critical mass after which your followings kept growing without any more effort on your part. If you want them to keep building inexorably you're going to have to keep returning to and participating in them. 

That said, there is one social network in which the momentum you build up from frequent activity seems to bestow benefits for a very long time indeed. And that's Twitter.

I have several accounts on Twitter in different niches. A couple of them are a few years old now. On both of these I still get new followers every day, even when I've been inactive for a while. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that my networks keep building in size because people will be unfollowing also, particularly if it's a while since I tweeted. Still, it's interesting that this occurs. And it doesn't happen on my newer accounts.

Obviously this has something to do with the fact that in each account my profile is in way more locations on the network such as in other tweeps' followers and following lists. Also, being so established, and strongly associated with certain keywords and hashtags, the internal search function of Twitter is showing my profile and tweets more often.

This effect seems to really have kicked in lately for my politically oriented account, which is heartening. Not only is my network building more consistently than before, with the same effort. But my tweets seem to be findable for far longer than before. These days, I quite often get retweets and replies for tweets that I posted several days previously. This effect seems quite marked. And it has only been really noticeable this year. So it seems to me to be mainly the result of an algorithmic factor. 

If you live in Perth and didn't actually go into the city to see at least part of The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of THE GIANTS to the Streets of Perth you would have to be part of a minority. And if you didn't even know they were here then you'd certainly need to have your head read!

This much anticipated event completely dominated the local mainstream media. And no wonder. It had a stunningly original and audacious premise: Two immense puppets would arrive in our isolated metropolis and pretty much take it over for three days. It had a compelling story as well as memorable images, set to music. Talk about colour and movement!

And just as it was all over the newspapers, TV news bulletins and radio waves it was also all over Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the other social networks. People were sharing shots and videos galore.

I took some photos of the diver character near the Horseshoe Bridge and shared them on one of my pages. They reached hundreds of people.

I also got a couple of videos of the giant puppets (this one and the one below). Each of them quickly racked up several hundred views. These figures confirm something we all know already: social media is all pervasive now. if you're not using it for marketing purposes, you're missing out, big time! 

Julie Darcy and her husband Denny own and run Insul Fibre in Wangara, in Perth's north. Recently she was kind enough to answer my questions about what it's like to run a business of this kind. 

Matt: Please tell me about your business and the products and services it supplies. 

Julie: Insul Fibre Insulation works with builders supplying, installing and delivering insulation products. We help builders by giving them the right information about insulation products for residential and commercial constructions. We stock a variety of products so they get the right product, for the right application. 

Sometimes a project requires four different insulation products. We can see from the specifications what is needed for each individual construction. We really wanted to make sure they were getting the right product so it works efficiently. 

Denny and I have been doing product research, manufacturing and distributing insulation products for fifteen years now. We know these products like a builder knows how to build a great home.

We have the knowledge to make the project energy efficient and this way the builders have more time to concentrate on the construction. They only have to deal with one supplier to organise all the insulation products required, delivered to site or installed.

Matt: I see that it has been around for a while, since 1963. Is it a family business?
 
Julie: Insul Fibre has been around a long time, since 1963. Denny and I purchased the business in 2000. We have four children, and running a family business was definitely in our thoughts. 

And we loved the Insul Fibre cellulose product as we had it in our own home. Our house is so warm in the winter and so much cooler in the summer. It works! We truly believe in the products which are efficient and environmentally friendly.

At one point we had all three of our boys working within the company, all in different areas of the business. Our oldest son Rick works in installations, and over the years he has gained a great deal of experience from installing, manufacturing, and delivering insulation to building sites. He is also involved in marketing and sales.

Matt: Obviously people need insulation for their homes and businesses do too. Which is your biggest market, residential or commercial? Why is that the case? 
 
Julie: We probably do slightly more in the commercial sector and working with builders is our main focus ... But we do lots of residential homes too! (Our referrals are great and they are the reason we still install lots of private homes. If Insul Fibre insulation has previously installed for a family they will in most cases come back for us to insulate their next house.)

Our concentration is on builders and tradies working on both private and commercial constructions. Builders expect a guaranteed service and they are confidant that we are able to install insulation at their job sites on a specified date or deliver product on-site for the brickies or subcontractors to install. (The builders love booking jobs ahead knowing that they will be installed on their specified dates. Time is money!)
    
Builders are kept informed at every stage, all jobs are confirmed prior to delivery or installation. We make a phone call the day prior to installation just to confirm everyone is on schedule. On-site deliveries are confirmed as the product is being loaded for delivery to check that the product can be received, either by a supervisor or subcontractor on site.
 
Matt: I'd imagine that each insulation manufacturer/installer has different strengths and areas of specialization. Which are yours? 
 
Julie: We are strong on information. In a nut shell, some constructions require a variety of insulation products, which can be confusing. 

For example, ceiling insulation and wall insulation are vastly different in thickness and density. Wall insulation needs to be both thin and dense, sometimes requiring reflective properties. It must be thin enough to place between brick cavities or in between concrete tilt panels so you don’t forfeit floor space in commercial fit outs, and some jobs require a vapour barrier. 

Ceiling insulation relies on the thickness or loft therefore it needs to be thicker and less dense. (Example include polyester batts and cellulose fibre.) Internal walls need to absorb sound and external walls requires a vapour barrier so they don't absorb moisture from condensation.
       
These different qualities and requirements can be confusing to many people. But we have the knowledge to clear that up.
   
Also, we specialize in energy efficiency, which is about combining building materials and insulation products that work together to get the best result. Architects are much more aware of energy efficiency in new buildings and the environmental factor also plays a part.

After fifteen years in the industry we have seen a lot of changes. There is more focus on energy efficiency in the construction industry than ever before. Our builders and architects rely on us for product information and advice on insulation systems that will compliment their construction. We guide them to new product that are available, and adhering to specified requirements and BCA regulations.

Matt: You sell Foilboard, which as I understand it is particularly good for cavity wall insulation. Any kinds of buildings that might need this kind of product more than others?

Julie: Foilboard Insulation Panel is great for many different constructions. The company is Melbourne based and it’s been around for two decades and is widely used around Australia. (The product website gives the best information on the variety of uses for the polystyrene board in both commercial and residential constructions.)

In Western Australia we do more double brick buildings and ones with concrete tilt panels. Foilboard is great for this application. The brickies will often use it for double brick cavity wall insulation. Being a ridged insulation panel it’s light weight and doesn’t sag and is easily pushed over the brick ties for easy installation. 

Recently, I have been thinking about why a fair proportion of people in business don't quite get social media. It's a bit of a stereotype that older people struggle here. But there is some truth to this. 

This is partly because they haven't grown up with the internet, as so many younger people have. So they often have a general trepidation about online activities. Related to this is the misconception that social media marketing is primarily a technological process that has to be carried out by geeks. The reality, however, is that it's much more about people, communication and emotions. 

There's also the fact that promoting a business was much more straightforward in the past -- even up until relatively recently. Basically, you placed ads in local and state-wide publications, print directories, radio, TV, etc. Heaps of people got to know about what you did. Some would buy from you soon after that. Positive word of mouth resulted if you offered quality service and value for money, bringing in more sales. (I know it was always more complex than that but I think that description covers much of what happened.)

But now everything's changed. You've got to have a conversation with people. And consumers are much more empowered than they were before.

Social media has become a big part of this process. And this is all about sharing -- particularly when you are first building your presence on these networks.

Basically, you have to help other people by pointing them in the direction of good content, products and services. You have to do it without expectation of reward. You just have to be confident that you will get some of that "love" coming back your way. Of course not everyone will reciprocate by sharing your stuff. But a lot of them will. And that's what will help you enormously. 

Given this new paradigm, if you think in the old terms of just promoting your own projects and not sharing the work of others, you'll find it a lot harder.

I have spoken to several people who still have this mindset. Talking to one guy about Twitter, I said it's worth following other people in your field, and also sharing their stuff. He looked at me, shocked, and said: "Why would I want to do that? They're my competitors!" 

That's true, but only if you're thinking in the old way ... Now, it's not nearly so cut and dried. Yes, it's still probably not a great idea to connect with and share the content of people in your niche in your own city or suburb. But you can still follow people like them who target Australia more generally, or who have no geo-specificity. 

Do this and you can make some great connections that can bring benefits indefinitely. Many will be very happy to help you if you help them from time to time, and without expectation. If they have a lot of followers and they share your stuff, you'll be seen by many more people than if you had not done this. Some of these will become your followers and even customers in the long run. So it's definitely worth doing. 

Here's another example of how appealing to the emotions is a good move in marketing, both offline and online: Recently I was in the Murray St mall. I saw an eye catching installation, shown below. 

My first thought was that it had something to do with Fringe World. But on closer inspection I realized it was part of a health and awareness campaign for the Heart Foundation. 

Basically you donate 10 bucks to the Heart Foundation and you receive a little red lock with a fob shaped like heart attached to it. You place it on the installation with a heartfelt message to someone you love. As you can see a lot of people have done this already.

As with pretty much every marketing campaign these days, this one comes with its own hashtag: #LockInTheLove.

It's clearly a very effective method of involving people's emotions. The campaign is definitely worth remembering when you want to promote any new product, service or movement.