.jpg)
Do you have an effective social media marketing strategy or plan? If not, you are just wasting time with social media and you may earn some money or get some business but you will not succeed at the level that you would like to. I see many people using social media in the wrong way or in many cases they are wasting time and goofing off. Now if your goal with social media is just to have fun then there is nothing wrong with this, but, if you are using it to get clients and make money, then it is crucial that you develop an effective marketing strategy and that you stop playing around.
Here are some tips to help you develop this strategy:
1. Write down your social media marketing plan. It is not good enough to simply have it in your head. It must be written, clear and specific. Include as a part of your written plan your goals by month and year as well as exactly what you plan to accomplish with your social media marketing. For example, How many new customers will you attract this month? How many newsletter subscribers? How many people will you approach about a joint venture partnership?
2. How much time per day will you spend on your social media marketing? Unless you are just getting started and you need to set up your profiles, or you are in the business of internet marketing or teaching social media, an hour a day will be just the right amount for most people.
3. Do you have a friend or follower policy? Do you know exactly who you are looking to connect with and what your rules are for accepting a friend request or following someone back on Twitter? Is this policy written down or just in your head?
4. What is your target market on social media? There are all kinds of people who are using social media and it is crucial that you decide exaclty who you want to connect with. In many cases, you will choose the same target markets that you are marketing to off line or with other marketing methods. However, you also need to consider where you can best connect with your target market. For example, if you are looking to connect with sales professionals or other top executives, while you will find many of them on Facebook or Twitter, it may be smarter to use Linkedin to connect with them. Or if you are looking for moms of young children you may find that more of them use Facebook than Twitter. You need to evaluate your target market and determine where the majority of them are and then spend the majority of your time on that social network.
5. What is your budget? Do you have money to spend on social ads such as those on Facebook? If you do not right now, then you should set a goal to eventually be able to do so as this will increase your marketing effectiveness.
6. What products and services will you promote with social media? If you have more than one business or job, which one will you market? or will you market both of them? If you have only an off line business or a physical product will you create some information products you can also market with social media? Doing this is another way to increase your social media marketing effectiveness.
7. Which sites you will use on a regular basis? Which ones will you use less frequently? Most people find than any more than four sites are too many on which to be active. Decide which ones you will use and then stick with them.
Answer these questions in written form and then take the time to adjust your plan as needed. Then get busy and work your plan and your social media marketing will be much more effective.
Learn more about social media marketing and other onine business hints, tips and tricks with my free newsletter.
Comments
Hi Anna,
The biggest challenge I face with social media is managing my time- information overload, but now that I have been around for awhile I have found folks that I like to keep up with who provide good insights!
Writing details on paper/computer is helpful and this gives you a direction to go in!
I appreciate your posts and thanks for the time and effort you put into your work!
Sincerely,
Cindy
Thank you, Anna. When I read your article, I realized that I always urge our clients to have a marketing plan...and I don't have one.
I also don't have a friend or follower policy which I will have by end of day today. Thanks to you.
Good article... that is what I call social media marketing with a direction in mind!
Thanks for sharing and may you achieve success in your networking.
Roger
www.RogerLoh.com
Excellent article. I definitely agree, a plan is quite necessary. Most businesses seem to be jumping on without any clue as to what they want to do with the tools in hand. Saw that with a couple of Airlines actually - they had rather confused Twitter identities.
Cheers,
Shitij
@shitijnigam
good article, it is very helpful in managing the time on social media websites.
thanks,
www.connectindia.in
Good article. For some people being educated on the potential and possibilities needs to happen before they create a strategy. Also social media marketing is all about targeting your customers with content that speaks directly to them in their language. You must also tie your strategy to your overall business goals. If you just (for example) state you want to increase new site visitors that doesn't increase revenue! Good books to get started: "The New Rules of Marketing and PR" by David Meerman SCott, "Social Media Marketing an Hour a Day" by Dave Evans, "Secrets of Social Media Marketing" by Paul Gillin, "Groundswell" by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.
Michael Newman
www.michaelnewmanconsulting.com
Great post. I think a lot of people have yet to write down their social media marketing plan. It's extremely important to do so for a number of reasons. To me, the most important is time management, which you touched on in your post. If you let it, social media can take over your entire day. With clearly defined goals, people can be efficient with their time.
To put social media to work for your small business, check out Catalyst Marketers: www.squidoo.com/Catalyst-Marketers
Best,
Ryan Taft
Catalyst Marketers
www.squidoo.com/Catalyst-Marketers
Terrific post!(#4 is especially, shall we say, on target?)Knowing what you are doing, as a professional, within social media marketing (SMM) is vital for success. If there is no strategy, you're just floundering about aimlessly and risk doing more harm to your brand than good.
For more, Google search:
How to Use Social Media for Effective Marketing, Blanford
and
How to Optimize Social Media Communications, writerroxanne
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!