Your best start, as with any new marketing initiative, is to understand what you hope to get out of this venture. Would you like social media help you build stronger relationships with existing clients? Reach out to potential customers? Build a more prominent image of your business within your community or industry? All of these are potential outcomes, but tailoring your purpose will help you find a starting place.
The next step you'll need to take into Social Media 101 is changing your perspective on strategy entirely. Social media encompasses an entirely new approach to marketing, far different from anything your print ads, direct mail campaigns or other traditional mediums capture. Social media focuses on inbound marketing - you are inviting those who might express an interest in your company to come to you, on their own terms, and seek out their own information. And for a new generation of potential clients, this is ideal. Interruption-based marketing is just that - based on the opportunity to interrupt people's daily lives and force a message on them. Inbound marketing requires that you provide those seeking you out with immediate, relevant information in an way that is easy to access, and fun! You are building a relationship with these contacts rather than making a sales - and that is far more valuable.
There is a plethora of options when you dive into the social media world, and each has its own unique niche.
Facebook is an opportunity build relationships by giving your organization a personality. Invite your "fans" to events, encourage and monitor discussion, post photos, and give those you interact with some ownership in the direction that your Facebook page, and even your organization takes. Facebook gives you the chance to really engage your fans and let them know that you are listening. And status updates give you the opportunity to offer frequent updates or messages to those you are connected with, even if it's just a quick call-out to remind them you're there.
LinkedIn allows you to build professional relationships with colleagues, other businesses in your industry, employees and potential employees. The Answers section provides outreach for individuals within your organization who may want to seek advice about a particular situation. Build a page to represent your organization, and allow your employees to proudly link to it, and demonstrate to others their pride in their employer.
Twitter is a relevant tool if you have frequent, quick updates to offer your "followers." Giving you only 140 characters to mini-blog with, it can be limiting, which is why it is essential to establish whether Twitter can be used to generate any valuable results. It is my personal opinion that Twitter can only be fully successful for a small window of business. For instance, the New York Times can post headlines and a call out to articles, which provides those who follow them the opportunity to interact with the online newspaper when a topic gathers their interest. It would not be as successful for your organization if you don't have frequent, concise messages to share. Twitter is a hot trend now, but it's hard to say what kind of longevity it will have without some changes in its platform.
MySpace, the former leader of the social media world, and somewhat fallen off the map. After establishing itself as the leader of the online networking craze, Tom and his followers have slowly become overwhelmed with spam and junk. While still a strong tool for musicians, aspiring actors and the like, organizations may not find it as valuable, and may have to weed through a whole lot of mess to get to any true value. While I don't recommend the site as a tool in your marketing plan, it doesn't hurt to take a look and see where social media came from and where it is today.
Blogging, utilizing WordPress or Blogger, among others, is another tool that has become a craze. As a blogger myself, I definitely see the value in it, as do hundreds of others. This tool can be easily utilized by many people, where you can share whatever information you want. The important piece that is all too often forgotten is whether what you're saying is meaningful to others. Remember, we are dealing with inbound-based marketing. An electronic sales pitch won't work. You need to be using your blog to provide valuable and relevant information to those reading it that will eventually lead to a sale or new client. No one will intentionally seek out your blog if each time they read it they are bombarded with a pitch. If, however, you present well thought out answers to common questions your customers have, you suddenly position yourself as an expert and a resource. And that is something each of your current and potential clients will see value in.
Social media is a maze that is difficult to navigate. But it is worth the work if you can find a way to implement it and form relationships with those you want to reach out to. Don't feel like you need to tackle it all at once. Pick an entry point - create a Facebook page, or a LinkedIn business profile. Become comfortable with that one piece, and then build on it. If you dive in head first with all these mediums, and the many others that are out there, you will quickly find yourself falling to the 5,697 page of Google search results.
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