The alluring call of the Siren has finally gotten you to succumb. You are going to market your business into the social media realm. Here are five guidelines you need to follow to be successful in leveraging social media for your business.
Answer A Few Questions
We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong. – Bono
Before you begin blogging, posting, tweeting, and linking you need to answer a few questions first. The answers you provide will help you establish a focused effort that will result in a better use of resources. So take your time to really answer them before you jump feet first into social media. Here are the questions:
- Why should/would anyone listen to you?
- What is your persona?
- What is your voice?
- Where will you engage?
- Who will you want to engage?
- Who will execute your social media plan?
- What do you want to accomplish?
- When do you want to begin?
- How will you measure success?
- How will you listen?
Ten questions that you should have strong answers to before you begin your social media campaign. All of them are weighed equally in importance.
Is your team asking the right questions?
It is has been my experience that where companies fail is in answering the first, third, and tenth questions sufficiently. The result has been that these businesses present an unfocused approach that repeatedly misses opportunities to build a strong brand. So take your time in researching your answers.
Make A Plan
The path to success is to take massive, determined action. – Tony Robbins
You made a business plan for your business, you made a marketing plan to market your business, and you may even have your salespeople use sales plans to beat their quota. You know that plans keep your company focused and on target. So why would you not have a plan for your use of social media?
This plan should layout the overall strategy for your social media campaign. It will be particularly strong if you have successfully answered the questions above. Primarily knowing what you want to measure and how you define success in social media are key components to your plan. It will keep you focused and away from wasting time.
Your social media plan should be incorporated with your marketing, sales, and customer service plans. It should not be a stand-alone entity. Doing this will allow you to keep a
The Secret Recipe
single voice and representation of your brand not matter where your customers may engage you.
Your social media plan – like other plans for your business – should be a living document that is updated and adjusted to take advantage of opportunities for your business. It is best to break down your tactical components of your social media plan into 30-60-90 day increments. It is easier to execute in more manageable bites.
Choose The Right Platform
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. – Abraham Lincoln
It is important that you research which social media platform is right for your business. Do not get caught up in the initial hype surrounding some of the platforms out there. Facebook may not be where your customers are if you are a manufacturing B2B that sells ball bearings. Go where your customers and where influencers of your customers roam. This means that you might not go on to Twitter or Facebook, but set up a blog or network intensely on LinkedIn. Business is still location, location, and location.
Test With Patience And Adjust
Distance tests a horse’s strength. Time reveals a person’s character. – Chinese Proverb
You need to measure your actions.
If you are entering into social media for the first time or coming back to it after a failed attempt, remember that patience is a virtue. Social media is not a quick sale or a fast customer service resolution. Social media is about being social and building relationships. In essence social media is about what you and I do everyday at the office, with our customers, and how we make friends. All of the things we have learned in the real world apply in social media: it takes time to get to know someone.
The great thing about that time is it allows you to test ideas, messaging, and service models while receiving feedback (that can be brutally honest) about your products. If you enter into this medium with honest intentions you will be rewarded with insights that you would have most likely been overlooked.
Measure Your Effort
People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results – Albert Einstein
When you have established what it is that you want to measure in your social media campaign – measure it. It could be gaining new followers, subscribers, fans, or customers. Whatever it may be, the measurement you have selected is the best indicator of your efforts and if they are in alignment with your plan. This is the same as how your measure your sales versus a quota or the return on a capital investment your business has made. Otherwise how do you know what you are doing is correct?
Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being. – Ghandi
Odysseus had his crew put wax in their ears so they would not row his ship upon the deadly rocks where the Sirens lived. Only he heard their song. Your business needs to have the same focus.
When you decide to enter into social media as a marketing tool it can be easy for everyone to want to be involved. That will tear you business apart and waste valuable resources. Your effort needs to be focused.
There is no need to rush when it comes to social media. Learn, observe, research, plan, and then execute a campaign that focuses on building strong relationships. You will be rewarded.
