Social media is the “new thing,” everybody is doing it, maybe I should too! Sound familiar?
Don’t do it because everyone else is doing it; do it because it makes sense as part of your overall marketing plan. If I said it once, I said it a million times, social media isn’t a silver bullet! Social media should have a plan just like any other program.
I recently read an article by Clement Yeung in Social Media Examiner, How to Get the M.O.S.T. From Your Social Media Marketing that highlights steps we all can take to get the M.O.S.T. out of social media. Here are some highlights:
M. Marketing Intelligence. Do your research. Who do you want to reach? Use tools like forums, key word searches and Google trends to see what’s out there.
O. Set your objectives. Sowhat do you want to accomplish? Become a thought leader? Improve SEO?
S. Strategy. Create a social media strategy with a plan of action.
T. Tactics. Do you want to build a branded blog site or just create an online presence?
Once you establish a plan, then identify the social tools you should use to reach your audience. Go where they are whether that will be Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube. Interact with them and start building relationships. If you have a blog, start driving them there versus your website.
If you apply the same disciplines to social as you do to other programs, you will be successful.
If you like this post, you may want to read:
Are you Using a Blog to Reach the Professional Tradesmen?
Have you Started a Company Blog? Maybe you Should.
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