Social Media Marketing Requires Strategy

Social media

Social media Social media is one of the most effective avenues for marketing your business, no matter what industry you are in. It is low to no cost and provides a business with connection to a wide range of prospects, referral partners, and clients.

One thing to embrace about social media marketing is that the best campaigns are informational; sharing information and knowledge works really well with social media. You are positioning your company as the experts in the field. That’s how you build trust. So, when you are thinking about creating a strategy, think about what you know that you can share.

Start with what you are hoping to accomplish. All marketing should have a goal. What do you want people to do? Social media does not respond well to “buy now” types of marketing campaigns. However, you have a great opportunity to create awareness and action that connects you to your buyer.

So, what do you want people to do? Call or visit your business? Clip a coupon? Watch a video? Attend an event? Be very clear and specific about what you want this particular campaign to accomplish. You will have a chance to implement other campaigns in the future. It’s important to realize that marketing is the kind of thing that changes over time. As your goals change, your marketing will change with it. So, don’t get caught up thinking that you have to have one sensational marketing campaign. Sensational would be great! However, you will want to create and implement marketing campaigns over time. So, focus on the goal at hand.

Now that you know what you want people to do, ask yourself this key question: which people? What does your target audience look like? And please don’t think it’s everyone, or everyone with a roof! It isn’t. Your best clients have things in common. Create the outline of that great client so you know who you are speaking to. Knowing who you are targeting is instrumental in creating your marketing strategy. You probably have a couple of target audiences. You aren’t going to message to all of them in the same way or the same places. For example, if one of your target audiences is over 80 years old, social media marketing may not be the way to go. Traditional marketing is probably more effective with them. If a target market is women in their 40s or 50s, Facebook is ideal.

When your message is broad because you trying to hit everyone, you hit no one. Your message should be specific and should be directed at a clear target audience. This is how they will hear it. Remember that you can implement other marketing campaigns to reach out to other audiences. Stay away from trying to hit all of them at once. That’s a message that will be so big no one will hear it and you won’t accomplish your goal.

Once you know what you want to say, and who you want to say it to, you have to decide where you should be communicating. This is a critical part of social media marketing success.

There is a danger of getting caught up in trying to do what the business next door is doing. Or what someone tells you to do. However, that’s not necessarily the best thing for your business! You want to be where your target audience is going to hear your message.

For example, if you are selling to consumers you probably want to have a Facebook business page. That’s a great place to connect with consumers who need your product or service. It isn’t necessarily so great if you sell business to business.

There are a lot of places online that you can post. Ask yourself where your target is. And how do they consume information?

Let’s explore some options that you might not be thinking about but have impact:

Video. Using video in your social media marketing can have an incredible impact. Video gives you the chance to demonstrate your product, or a how-to on the job site. It also gives your audience a chance to see you. Don’t underestimate how powerful this can be.

People buy from people they trust. One of the best ways to build trust is to talk to people directly. Video gives you this opportunity.

You can post your videos on YouTube and/or Vimeo. Then you can share them on other platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. You can also use video in blog posts and email marketing.

Guest Blogging. If there are blogs out there that you follow, start commenting on the posts. Once you’ve developed a relationship with the blog owner, ask if you can provide a guest article. That can get you in front of their audience, which can elevate your credibility and exposure.

Podcasts. There are a lot of podcasts that seek guests to share expertise. Do some research to find the ones that make sense for your business. Then reach out to the host. Remember that this is not a commercial for your business. You share your expertise around some aspect of your industry. You then have a link you can share through your social media platforms. Being a guest on a podcast can increase your credibility.

Email marketing. Often overlooked, email marketing is one of the most effective marketing methods available today. Not only does it allow you to stay connected to your audience, but you can now connect your marketing email to your social profiles. This expands the reach of the email.

If you are new to social media marketing pick ONE avenue and get used to it. Consistency is critical to social media marketing success, so don’t overdo it right out of the gate. Give yourself the chance to get used to the process and to build steam. You can always add to your strategy as you move forward.

Think about where your target audience is going to hear your message, determine what you want them to know and do, and then decide how you want to connect with them. Social media marketing is really about connecting and building trust. That’s why it’s social marketing. As you build awareness around your company you will find that your marketing momentum will build. Your company will become a household name and people will share your information with their networks. The spider web of the Internet will expand your efforts and you will realize a significant impact to your business growth.

About the Author

Diane Helbig
Diane Helbig is an international business and leadership change agent, author, award-winning speaker, radio show host and web TV channel host. As president of Seize This Day (http://www.seizethisday.co) based in Cleveland, she helps businesses and organizations operate more constructively and profitably. She can be reached via email at [email protected].

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