Why You Need A Social Media Strategy

Social media has become the number one place for businesses to build, maintain and strengthen relationships with their customers.

Social media is kind of like a “digital word of mouth” and when done right you hope readers will pass it on and on… However, when done wrong, you can bet they will pass it on, fast.

If your business is not using social media as a way to market yourself, you are missing out on a great (and potentially free) way of being seen. Further, many businesses are using social media as a way to provide customer service.

What a brilliant idea, go where your customers are. Social media is intertwined in our society and just about everyone is reachable.

I would venture to say that 90% of everyone reading this post has a Facebook account, right?

And, 95% will be a part of some sort of social media network at some point.

There are new social media networks popping up all the time, so do your research and choose one that works for you.

Now that I have convinced you that social media is necessary, what is next?

You need a plan

Diving into the world of social media is a scary thing for a lot of small businesses. But, the potential reward is great. As with all business decisions, you need a well-executed plan of attack.

Without research and a plan, most fail or give in too soon and never see the rewards. A social media strategy doesn’t rely so much on tricks or hacks; it is a process of building relationships and connections.

In other words, it’s not just about spreading the word about your new products and services, if you build trust and credibility your products and services will sell themselves. This of course depends on your ability to communicate your company values. You remember those core values you created in you business plan, they are going to play a big part in your social success.

Don’t wait, create

If you decide that social media is a worthwhile choice for you, you need to create accounts on the major social media platforms ASAP. The reason I make this such an important step is that you want to secure your name before someone else does.

What I mean is, when you open an account with Twitter or Facebook you have to choose a username, which also becomes the URL of your account. It is much easier to remember a URL that is related to your business.

For example:

http://facebook.com/user4521

Better yet…

http://facebook.com/mycompany

What better name than the name of your business? The same URL structure is available for other social networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

Be sure to fill out your profile with as much information as you can. This is how people find you. If you are a local business that is trying to reach local clientele, this is even more important.

Don’t forget to add links back to your amazing blog that should be filled with great content that provides valuable resources for you readers to gather information.

You have your social media strategy and your accounts set up, what should you do first?

Stop! Listen

Once you have an account set up, take some time to observe how others interact and communicate before you start posting. Each site is different and requires a different approach to interaction.

Seek out others that share in your interests and as you start to engage with them you will begin to build interest; this is an “organic” way of building fans with social media.

You are going to see a lot of user pushing for paid followers and likes. Don’t, just don’t. It is a bad way to start your social crusade. Plus, if someone what wanted to find out bad enough, they could. It just plain looks bad.

Why is content king?

Participating in social networking is an important part of internet marketing but it isn’t easy.

If you snooze, you lose, if you fail to update your blog it could mean a drop in traffic just as a failure to participate in a social network on a regular basis could mean a decrease followers.

It is important that you share valuable and relative content and share often.

Keep your presence consistent so your audience can expect your posts at or around the same times. If you start out posting on a daily basis and they slack off and only post once a month you will lose some of your audience. People are habitual by nature and they start expecting content on a consistent basis, don’t let them down.

Consistency is important, but don’t become robotic with your posts, people don’t socialize very well with robots.

Conclusion

Social Marketing is here to stay, and when done right, it can have a positive effect on the bottom line, which is what it all comes down to, right?

We are all busy but it is worth your time to invest in providing quality and timely content to your readers. Social media is a proven method of getting your message out to the masses.

If you are going to do it, do it right.