Social media marketing requires a strategy. Before opening a Facebook account or sending a single tweet, plan who to talk to, resources and content. If your company does not currently have one, don’t panic. Here are your steps:
- Audience – Who are you talking to? Social media is social, but choose with whom you’d like to communicate. Knowing who is listening to you helps determine the content and tone of the conversation. This will also help you know when your audience is online. When do they want to communicate? What is their age range? Education? Knowing this helps drive content.
- Goals – What do you want to accomplish? Are you trying to build followers? Drive revenue? Marketing events? Marathon training requires the trainer to know what they are working for: 26.2 miles. Knowing this helps businesses stay focused on their efforts.
- Did It Work – Google Analytics. Hootsuite.Twitter. Facebook Insights. All of these are tools that can be used to know if you are efforts are working. Measure and analyze against your goals and objectives. This analysis should be done over a set period of time. Assign a time at the end of the month, quarter or year to “check in.”
- Resources – Which platforms will you choose? There are 1000’s from which to choose: Facebook,Instagram, Pinterest, blogging, YouTube, etc. All of these offer various benefits. Pinterest is excellent for building your brand. YouTube / Vimeo are solutions for quick video content. Know what is best for your audience.
- Timing – When are you going to tweet, post and comment? A common small businesses fear is that social media will take over their life. It can. “Listen” to your audience and watch when they are online. When they are online, you should be online. Also, different platforms dictate different engagement methods (e.g. – tweet more than you post).
A social media strategy is a valuable part of a marketing strategy. Don’t be intimidated by it. Organize and plan for success. Then measure to make it worked. Have fun!
Scientifically Speaking, of course.
Next Week: What I Learned from Failure
