Lots of people approach us frustrated and under the presumption that Social Media does not work and all is a BIG fad! It is in fact a new way to communicate. A new communication tool we can use to engage with existing and prospective clients online.
The first thing we ask when approached by a business who are not having much success with Social Media is “Have you got a Social Media Strategy Plan” and for 99.9% the answer is “no”.
In order to meet your Social Media activities and goals achieved you need to put together a Social Media Strategy.
Your Social Media Strategy is just like your Business Plan; it enables you to define your Social Media Goals and Objectives, and gives you a vision to move towards your objectives. Without these “what are you trying to achieve?”
Your Social Media Goals should align with your Business Goals and Objectives and be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely).
You then need to do your research. Look at where your competitors are engaging, where your Target Market are “hanging out” and from this determine which Social Media sites you should be using.
Within your Social Media Strategy you need to think about Key Centres of Influence i.e.; key people who can get your message out to the masses.
Think about the people who that have a lot of credibility within your industry as these are the key people to start engaging with to get your message out there.
One of the most important areas to consider is content. Many people struggle with what to post and tweet. Look at industry blogs, news sites etc. and consider these four areas that ZC Social Media always discuss with their clients; Conversation, Articles, Tips, and Promotion. DON’T spam people by constantly sharing links and selling. Share good quality information and content that can build a “know like and trust factor” to encourage people to come and buy your products and services.
An important aspect of your strategy is your blog. Blogging will enable you to direct more people (traffic) to your website rather than a third party website.
And finally measurement; measuring your Social Media Activities and progress is essential, otherwise how do you know if you are improving or achieving your goals? There are various tools out there that can measure various parts of your Social Media progress. From a tool called Tweetreach which will measure how far your tweets travel, to using Sendible which can analyse the number of new followers on twitter, mentions and how many people clicked on your displayed links. The tools you use will depend on your goals and objectives.
Analysing and measuring your social media activities and results will enable you to review and change anything going forward, always make sure you keep an action plan. The biggest task of all with your social media is to take BIG ACTION.
Do you have a social media strategy plan? Would you like Zoe to help your company put together a strategic plan for your social media activities? Email info@zcsocialmedia.com for more information.