I have talked a lot this month about Social Media:
- Don’t Believe Everything You Hear / See In Social Media
- Your Social Media Campaign is Doomed to Fail
- What Industry Experts Look for On Twitter
Social Media Done Right is Not Easy
I have to say it again, it bothers me immensely to see so many businesses offering Social Media services and they really don’t know how to create a strategy, how to be effective and how to measure results and failures (both are important). I am going to go over the basics of creating a social media plan.
Components
Goals
Whenever you plan anything you must have a goal or goals in mind. The same goes for Social Media. What are your goals? Have you clearly defined these goals? What do you want to achieve? What do you need to receive to make your investment in social media worthwhile? Goals can be about engagement, advertising, leads, conversion, links…really consider why you are getting into social media and review your goals before you start. (always ask yourself, are my goals achievable?)
Target Your Audience(s)
What are your target markets? Who is going to be needing what you have to offer? Where are these audiences? Can you engage them? Create customer profiles and really research and plan strategies that will help you meet your goals. A quick list of what to consider when targeting an audience:
- Age
- Interests
- Gender
- Locations
- Personalities
- Customer Needs
Offer Something – of Quality!
- Educate your audience – from the beginners to the advanced.
- Solve problems.
- Entertain, but don’t offend!
- Offer discounts or coupon codes.
- Listen and Answer.
- Be real and kind.
- What are your competitors now doing/offering – d0 it, offer it and be better!
Not everything you offer should come from your own site. Show that you know there is quality info out there and provide it. You are not losing business to others; you are proving that you are educated on the subjects you discuss.
Engage
Be engaged with your followers and those that are checking you out to determine if they want to follow you. Always be engaged with those that have questions about your business. You create relationships by engaging and the positive relationships are the key to your Social Media success! You can also use these relationships and interactions to ask questions and research.
Advertise Who You Are, But Subtly
If all you do is talk about yourself, your business and how great you are you will have no followers. People are looking for quality information and relationships…subtly keep your business or self in them mix. Promoting blog posts and specials are an easy and effective way to do that.
Measurement
Things to Think About When Planning
- How much time do you have to be involved in Social Media?
- Which platforms will you use?
- Which monitoring options will you use?
- Are your goals realistic?
- How will you measure success? Each goal should have some form of measurement that tells you whether or not your have succeeded or not. Which social media tools will you use?
- What is your strategy for branding?
- Are your goals achievable?
