30-Minute Read: Social Media Marketing

If you were to Google “Social Media Marketing” chances are that a bunch of listings will come up promising to help you master it in thirty minute a day. Being somewhat of experts in web marketing, we think that is goes deeper than that. Social media is not something that you just take a stab at, invest thirty minutes and hope it works. Rather it should be a very significant part of your overall marketing and even advertising strategy, woven into almost every aspect of your business.Here’s why – social media provides many different benefits to its users, benefits that you need to understand and work within. And integrating social media with your business is something that takes time and strategy. That being said, here are some things to start you on a path to social media greatness.

Define Your Customer

This is taking us back to marketing 101, but it is really important to note. Take the time to sit down and define exactly who you are trying to reach. If it is a mother of three who is involved in the PTA, you are going to approach and speak to them much differently than you would an IT nerd who wants concise facts. Start here because it truly will guide what you post and how you post it. 

Build a Foundation

We have all tried to get customers over to our Facebook pages without the page being top notch. Not engaging, not interesting, not even functioning in a way that would accomplish their goals – if we even sat down to establish goals. And that is one sure fire way to dilute your brand, turn away fans and waste a ton of time. Think about it this way, would you launch a website with a shopping cart not working? No sir. So take the time to build quality Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, etc accounts. It will pay off tremendously in the long run.

Post With Feeling

Don’t just post to post something. We’ve all heard the rule that you should tweet 3-5 times a day. But again, if you don’t have anything of value to say, don’t say anything at all. It is really easy to like or follow you and just as easy to stop. Be meaningful, provide quality information, be funny, be relevant, be authentic. People know when something is genuine, so be that way in each and everything you post.

Understand the System, Don’t Fight It

Social media platforms are very defined in their roles and uses. Facebook is for engagement, Pinterest is for sharing and Twitter is like trying to get someone’s attention on a billboard while they’re doing seventy down the highway. Work within that. Take a look at the people that you follow and enjoy and take note as to why. It is always good to take a look at big brands like Apple, Nike, etc. and emulate what they are doing. 

Let It Be Your Living, Breathing Brand

Your social media presence is your brand personified. Think through exactly how you want that person perceived. Not only the look of all of your profiles, but even the language used, the content included and the interaction with your customers on it. This strategy needs to incorporate your offline initiatives as well. How can that event you’re planning feed in to your Facebook following?

Constant Vigilance

Set up email notifications if someone tweets, comments, likes, etc. If something is going on with your brand online, you want to know about it ASAP and be able to respond. Set up a couple of people who are responsible for monitoring all of your social media platforms and even those of your competitors.

Track It

What do people like? What is garnering conversations? What is generating traffic to your website or calls? Whatever it is that is creating positive outcomes, keep doing it! And whatever is becoming a big flop, trash it. Either way, know what is working and what isn’t and let that shape your social media marketing strategy.