Social Media Marketing Keys
No matter what kind of business you are in, social media marketing has become extremely important. Many large companies are now integrating social media as part of their primary marketing plan, including a wide range of companies, from the top auto insurance companies to Macy’s to Ford Motor Company. You might not think that affordable online car insurance would draw a lot of attention from consumers, but recent research from the Pew Foundation reveals that consumers carefully research many different kinds of products before making purchase decisions and social media is a major force in getting information to consumers. As a result, social media marketing should be at the top of your list of priorities this year.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Make Sure You Have a Clear Voice
Often, social media marketing activities get delegated to IT and marketing personnel. However, in performing their activities, it is important that they express a message that is consistent with your brand identity. Make sure that any messages sent out over Facebook, Twitter or other social media outlets reflect your company goals and overall mission statement.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Engage in the Process
Social media is about networking. This means that it is a dynamic process between companies and consumers. Followers may comment on messages that are posted on your company Facebook page or on a recent Tweet. It is important that you respond in a personal manner to keep the communication process alive. This process develops consumer/company relationships and encourages consumer loyalty and advocacy.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Follow Through the Process
Social media is the latest buzz in marketing and it is easy to get excited about it as a marketing methodology initially but then lose interest or commitment down the line. If you decide to embark on a social media marketing strategy, remain committed to it throughout the process. Remember that marketing is a long-term commitment and often does not show immediate results. Encourage your staff to participate regularly in the social marketing process and post messages and “like” related products or companies or even followers who interact regularly with your staff.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Interact with Key Influential Industry Connections
Social scoring is a new trend in social media marketing. The amount of influence a person has within your industry can make a large impact on your own influence if you become associated with them. One area of social media marketing which is revealing this trend is with the new Google+ social media outlet. Google+ has “circles” you can join and become associated with. If you become identified with an influential circle, then your own sphere of influence becomes greater. Identifying movers and shakers in your industry, cultivating relationships with those people or organizations and interacting with them can help you refine your social media marketing strategy.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Use Social Media as a Tool
Remember that social media is a way for you to interact with consumers and customers. As a result, you can use it to target specific groups of customers and offer specific business value to them. For example, social media can be a method to announce spring sales or new products. This will drive more website traffic and increase sales and provide added value to your customers who follow you via social media outlets.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Bring the Virtual into the Physical
Social media outlets are not limited to Twitter and Facebook. One of the new emerging areas of social media integrates the use of smart phone technology and allows consumers to tag places they are located physically to promote an online presence for a company. For example, Foursquare is a smart phone application that allows consumers to tag where they are physically and serves as a form of testimonial on a company’s popularity. As part of your social media marketing strategy, integrate these new emerging technologies and encourage your customers to participate by placing signs at your stores or company locations.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Integrate Contacts
There are several wonderful social media marketing management programs that make it possible to manage all of your social media contacts, including customers, prospects, stakeholders and others. Sprout Social and Hootsuite are highly recommended. By managing your contacts, it becomes possible to target your social media marketing efforts into a cohesive message that tracks across all types of contacts. It also makes it much easier to identify which messages have the desired impact and which messages are ineffective.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Integrate Social Media Efforts
One of the benefits of using a social media marketing management system is that it allows you to integrate social media messages across several different outlets. For example, the program Constant Contact allows you to send out emails to contacts and customers on a scheduled basis. Email marketing can be a way to promote new products, sales or specials, increasing website traffic and sales. You can coordinate email campaigns to reflect similar promotions to your Twitter and Facebook followers and provide a cohesive and coordinated effort.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Keep Content Fresh
One of the problems that many social media marketers face is content becoming stagnant and followers becoming bored and dropping off. Consumers who use social media require constant new content that is fresh, relevant and easy to read.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Utilize More than One Outlet
Social media has become a gigantic communication and marketing trend that continues to evolve. A smart move is to utilize more than one social media outlet and incorporate several different hubs to increase your internet presence. For example, instead of only focusing your efforts on your website content, expand to include both Twitter and Facebook and possibly other outlets such as Google+ and Yelp.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Evaluate and Plan
One of the key factors in any social media marketing plan is developing a strategic plan for your marketing activities. This allows you to develop a coordinated methodology and approach. As you implement your social media marketing activities, evaluate their effectiveness by measuring which messages become disseminated through followers, which messages result in a spike in website traffic and which messages result in increased sales.
Keys to Social Media Marketing | Final Thoughts
Social media marketing can have a very impressive impact on your internet presence and overall sales. Compared to other traditional forms of marketing, it has a very high return on investment (ROI). An effective social media marketing plan includes utilizing several different social media platforms, keeping content fresh and making a continual effort at interacting and networking with followers and influential individuals and companies in your industry.