As Social Media is being integrated more and more in companies marketing and communications plan, needed strategies are rising to utmost importance.
Questions like – What do I need?, How do I begin?, What do I say?…Who to put in charge? Are screaming in marketing departments everywhere. Some companies are just ready to jump on the bandwagon without any long-term commitment. WRONG! Read the following prerequisites and strategies from several great strategists.
First things first – Make sure your upper-management team believes in social media and that the first goal is not to sell, sell, sell. In other words, if your business is jumping into social media because “everyone else is doing it” or because you want to sell product rather than to build relationships then forget it, it WILL NOT GO ANYWHERE!
Great lineup of strategies from Raz Chorev read the following excerpts:
#1: Determine Your Goals and Objectives
Keep it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, and Timely (aka be SMART!).
#2: Research, Research, and Research Some More
Rather than jumping into social media, prepare yourself so you know what to expect.
#3: Create a Digital Rolodex of Contacts and Content
When social media is done correctly, relationships will build naturally.
#4: Join the Conversation to Develop Relationships
You can start joining the conversation by posting comments on blogs and forums, answering questions on Yahoo! and LinkedIn, joining groups related to your industry and joining Twitter chats.
#5: Strengthen Relationships
It’s easy to hide behind your avatar or profile picture, but face-to-face is incredibly powerful.
#6: Measure Results
Goals and objectives of your social media strategy.
Measuring social media is a never-ending debate. What metrics do you use to measure social media? What objective are you measuring those metrics for?
#7: Analyze, Adapt, and Improve
Your social media strategy doesn’t end with measurement; it goes beyond that. You need to analyze your social media campaigns, adapt any new findings into your current processes, and improve your efforts.
Testing and experimentation will perfect your social media efforts.
For a detailed look at these strategies visit http://www.razchorev.com/2010/07/28/creating-a-social-media-strategy/
Social media is social—your strategy is an attempt to create and shape the social environment to support your business goals. But the communities and their members are the ultimate owners. Social Media strategies must be flexible and dynamic. Plan to review, update, and adjust your strategy regularly during the course of its execution.
Use a table as the core of a social media strategy document. The core table defines three main elements:
Social media goals—It all starts with your business goals. The goals are first point the client needs to establish, and they drive everything else.
High-level strategy—Each goal has a high-level strategy describing the general plan for accomplishing that goal.
Success criteria—Success criteria are the lynchpin of my social media strategy. The success criteria crystalize the goal and drive the tactical plan, the tools requirements, and even the processes.
Interim measures—Data to track and evaluate during the execution of the strategy, in order to ensure you’re on track and make necessary adjustments.
LISTENING TOOLS, CONVERSATIONS AND MICRO-BLOGGING: Tools to help you listen to what’s happening around the world in your niche along with help you manage searches and other platforms and also networking your SM platforms updating several at once.
Apple’s new iPhone changes the way we communicate, giving us “FaceTime”.
Wikipedia’s definition - “Face time is interaction or contact between two or more people at the same time and physical location. Face time therefore occurs in “real life” or “meatspace” and contrasts primarily with interaction or contact which occurs over distance (eg. via telephone) and/or electronically (eg. via email, instant messaging, e-commerce, or computer simulations).
The term was originally a colloquialism but has entered the vernacular with the increasing number of people throughout the world who commonly and extensively rely on telecommunications and the internet for personal and business communication.”
FaceTime calling is video calling.
This bridges distance, gives us realtime connections, updates and current happening, all in one small handheld. Apple states that video calling has been dreamed about for decades…
PC Magazine states that Video Calling isn’t a first with FaceTime, but has been real for years now. They never took off though due to carriers charging by the minute and many of the early 3G phones had very bad battery life. In PC Magazine’s article, it also states that even though FaceTime is not the first video calling, it is known that Apple takes existing technology and makes it smoother, consumer friendly and easy to use. Examples of that are the iPod, and the iPhone.
If you’ve never written a post, blog or tweeted… then this is for you.
1. Market For Free -
Internet marketing is powerful due to the fact that there are so many ways to market for free(or very little) out-of-pocket costs. Here’s a few places to look into: Get involved on social websites (Facebook, Ping, Digg, Stumble Upon, Squidoo), Use video marketing (Youtube, Vimeo, Ustream, Vpype on Facebook), article marketing on places like Ezine articles, post ads on online classifieds sites like Craigslist, all these and more are great ways to market yourself and your business for free. All you need is some time, some effort and a little guidance, and your on your way.
2. Tap Into The Worldwide Market -
The Internet has become the vehicle to connect you with people from all over the world. With online tools, webinar’s, Skype, Social Media – Twitter, LinkedIn, you can learn, network, have video-conversations/webinar’s, build relationships with people from every part of the globe. Your market can be GLOBAL!No more limits on neighborhood only or constricted to your town and it’s competition.
3. The Internet NEVER closes -
Dream of your business being open 24/7? Dream no more, the internet has made that possible. Having an online business with your website available 24/7 makes you visible and available at all times of the day and night even when your sleeping.Cost to you?Price of a website that represents YOU. Do you have to pay for commercials?NO. Realize that ANY content that you post once, can market for you for WEEKS and/or MONTHS to come. That is AMAZING leverage to help you build your business.
4. Optimize Your Website – SEO & SMO
Want to increase traffic to your website? Get ranked by search engines. This can be achieved by making sure keywords/phrases that you’re trying to get ranked for are placed in the html tags and in the content of your site along with your domain name.Many people think their websites are optimized for search engines, in reality most are not. Keep in mind, that getting organically ranked takes some time but is well worth the wait. You also need to place your website information on a Facebook fan page along with submitting to other SM sites to make sure you have traffic from ALL potential search engines. (Google can not search Facebook)
5. No Time restraints -
You have the ability to work from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. You can be visiting family and friends and just drop a line on Twitter, post an update on Facebook, add an informative post to your blog/website and Voila!…you can continue visiting or learning or shopping for better items from ANY city in the world! Now that’s AWESOME!
6. Drive Traffic to Your WebSite.
Most people think that all they have to do is put up a website, sit back and watch their income increase.Nothing could be further from the truth. Realize that having an attractive website is important, but it means NOTHING without traffic. In other words, what good is an attractive website if no one to sees it? One of the biggest reasons that internet-based businesses fail is lack of quality traffic.No traffic, no income, no business. Successful business, regardless if it’s a network marketing business or a “traditional” business rely on TRAFFIC!
7. Video Marketing -
Video Marketing is a another great way to drive traffic to your site for several reasons. Why? Videos allow you to connect with your audience in a closer more personal way than you would in an article. Besides that, IT”S FREE and video is UBIQUITOUS – everywhere ALL the TIME.(Not like some commercial that is scheduled to run every 2 hours and costs you thousands of dollars without a guarantee of any ROI.) In a video, your audience can hear your voice, your excitement and they start identifying with you. (Make sure you’re posting valuable content and information.) While doing this simple marketing, you’ll brand yourself as an expert and drive targeted traffic, 24/7 and 365 days a year.
8. Article Marketing -
Article Marketing is one of the most common method people use to drive traffic to their site. Article Marketing allows you to put a link to your site in your resource box that people can click to get to your site. Writing and publishing articles also brands you as an authority in your target niche, it also allows your articles to be republished by other’s which results in your link being all over the internet. Republished Article = Traffic. Traffic = Potential Income. Ezine Artlcles is a great place for that! Don’t forget to submit to StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, and post on your Blog.
Facebook and Twitter are no longer just your social networking site for family and friends.
They have in fact, become the most powerful social business networking tools around, besides LinkedIn. You can give a whole new boost to your business using these two very effective, important social networking tools. They are the best thing because of the real time interaction offered by them allowing you to interact with people namely your client/customers.
With the marketing landscape changing so rapidly, businesses are slowly venturing out trying to incorporate either Twitter or Facebook for their marketing fields. Most seem to reach the 1st step, then stand there uncertain of what to do, what to say, or who to put in charge of SM marketing. Others are standing back and watching to see how it’s value is going to play out.
One of my favorite things about Twitter is it’s real-time value. For the past year and a half…I have gotten the news before the news stations have. Not only that…but it’s REAL PEOPLE not spiced up news, and it’s from different parts of the globe. This gives you such a WORLD WIDE view that to look at the news anymore from one station….is like watching a 1 dimensional movie…BORING!
Twitter conversation has become very informative and quick. If your not sure about the news…..check twitter. You can usually find a healthy stream of information about the same topic. Need opinions on something? Check Twitter… using hashtags and lists…
Want to know how a new product will be accepted…ask opinions ask questions on Twitter. Your audience can be worldwide.
So back to using Twitter…Once you’ve set up your profile, or company profile:
Here’s some valuable steps in launching your Twitter presence amongst real-time tweeters…and how it’ll help YOU.
Add a picture. People want to see YOU or your BRAND.
Talk about other people’s interests..showing that your HUMAN.
Point out interesting things in your world…not just about YOU.
Share helpful links to things in your community.
Be careful DON’T get stuck just tweeting about YOU.
Have you noticed how fast word gets around? How there’s no waiting for the news…it seems like everyone knows? Have you noticed how your buying habits have changed? Yet it doesn’t seem so different…
The marketing landscape has been flipped upside down. Retailers, companies, businesses, buying and selling are all scramblingbecause of YOUR WORD.
Didn’t know you had that much power did you?
Looking at 2007, 2008, 2009 and getting ready to head into 2010, we’ve seen the shift changing right before our very eyes. We’ve watched the housing industry drop into an almost endless abyss, we’ve watch gigantic car companies plummet right behind them. We’ve also watched and heard retailers groaning from the east coast to the west.But in the middle of all that earthquake shattering chaos…we’ve watched other companies rise and increase. What do they have that you don’t?
The Power of Your Word.
What? I don’t get it you say? Well let’s look at some amazing short stories.
Amazon…very large company. Offers alot of great deals and value. But here’s the secret. They also offer “the power of your word” – RATiNGS & REViEWS.What a consumer says about a product or service.
Netflix – Simple yet straight forward. Great movies all the time at your convenience with GREAT customer service and RATiNGS. Seriously how likely are you to watch something with a 1 star rating?
Overstock.com – GREAT values, great selections, Great shipping, and GREAT REViEWS. What the customer thinks about the item.WOW…the Power of Your Word!Will you buy an item with a negative review? More than likely the answer is NO!
This all started back when EBay made sure to inform people about sellers and buyers. If you wanted to make sure you bought from a reputable dealer….you checked his or her feedback/ratings for any negative feedback or problems other customers might have experienced. Before all this rating and review…most of us relied on the “commercials”, “ads”, “salesperson” and before that…it was “word of mouth” what our “friends”, or “friends friend” had to say about something. Today, it’s similar – “old world values” but “New World technology”. Just visit Facebook or Twitter ask and see what your “friends” say about an item or service. We could go on and on but you get the idea.
Advertising and sales has reached a crossroad.
Today’s consumer has the last word about what they think. With cell phones platforms changing rapidly to interactive means of talking, shopping and doing business, it’s up to you to either listen or risk falling into that deep abyss groaning. Social Media has emerged as the conversation platform of consumers. Social sites have “listened” to the consumer and answered. Internet Marketing is continuing to climb vertically, Mobile marketing is on the rise as are video marketing sites.
It’s up to you to tune in to what’s being said….or tune out.
Companies that are widely engaged in SOCIAL MEDIA surpass their peers in both revenues and profits.
300,000+ business have a presence on Facebook
Dell sold over 3,000,000 computers over Twitter.
Blendtec quintupled sales with “Will It Blend?” YouTube videos
37% of Generation Y were aware of the Ford Fiesta via Social Media before it even launched.
What these statement speak LOUDLY is Social Media has given POSITIVE RESULTS with low overhead. THATspeaks volumes by itself. BUT marketing wants ROI’s drawn up on paper. In today’s marketing….not happening presently. Traditional marketing has lost it’s high dollar appeal, fueled by this economy, its generating a mass movement to Social Media Marketing. Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI…old media was Pay to Play…do you think the majority of media dollars will reside there tomorrow?
WHAT ABOUT THE ROI’S?
Good question…but shouldn’t we be answering:
“WHY ARE WE TRYING TO MEASURE SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE A TRADITIONAL CHANNEL?”
71% of companies plan to increase investments in social media by an average of 40% because:
Low Cost Marketing
Getting Traction
We Have To Do It
Socialnomics blog states really well: Social media touches every facet of business and it should be viewed more as an extension of good business ethics. Which, if done properly, will harvest sales down the line. Enjoy this video by Socialnomics. It gives you a simple straightforward ROI explanation…
ROI’S? Most definitely Social Media is moving and keeping up with technology. Marketing – traditional marketing has just barely started moving in that direction. Realize that people have taken the power of conversations into their own hands.Most people become informed on whether a product or “brand” is worthwhile by opinions and comments from consumers via reviews, Social site, email, and twitter.
Those can’t be tracked as traditional ROI’s. So quit trying. Think OUT OF THE BOX!
Mcdonalds says it plainly: “Our head of Social Media is the customer”
It’s a new era, with old value’s…at the speed of the internet = realtime: word of mouth.
Connection, Uniqueness, Comfort and Variety. These needs vary in importance for each individual and each person’s need can also shift resulting in trading off needs. Example: Connection during holidays might be very important to some….others might need comfort, others crave uniqueness (standing out in the crowd) while others yet might like variety or choices (visiting lots of friends/family).
Marketing has only focused on the middle of the curve area…and not worked with consumer NEEDS. So the consumer navigates through the world without the influence of marketing.
How can they do that?
Consumers have shifted their spending with an awareness using online reviews, social media sites, chats and emails from friends. This puts the reins in their hands, helping them make informed decisions. Meanwhile, marketing budgets have been shrinking making it harder for marketers to create awareness let alone interest in their products.With budget cuts tight, marketers need to lean to digital as opposed to traditional. Smart Marketers will take that jump using digital to enhance the brand experience with current customers and acquire new ones through “word-of-mouth” marketing.
As 72% of consumers say prior experience has driven their brand loyalty, 58% of online adults say they trust online reviews MORE than any other medium except chat/emails from friends. For marketers to do more with less dollars, they will need to STOP focusing on gaining and spend more with current customers. Those customers will be your “word-of-mouth” marketing campaign.
Also use digital means to enhance how you connect with consumers making your brand responsive and connected to the consumers ever shifting needs.
10 Things you can do:
use online reviews
redesign your website with an interactive design or SEO friendly WordPress site allowing comments
In this Recession people have moved toward comfort and connection. Marketers and businesses MUST be reassuring and comforting to the consumer meeting their unique needs.
…as the traditional marketing sector has also been affected by this recession. Withcompanies slashing their marketing budgets from traditional means such as Television, radio, newspaper ads, SMM and RM has increased 10 fold due to it’s affordability and outreach.
The gas price inflation which in effect has kick-started this change, encouraged businesses to look for other vehicles or means to “get the word out”.Vehicles or means that were available but low-keyed in existence were: Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Myspace, blogs, ping, Youtube, Delicious, digg, StumbleUpon, Squidoo and countless others. They were vehicles just waiting to be boardedand boarded they were.
Twitter’s vertical climb was off the charts and couldn’t be harnessed because it was moving so fast. Facebook’s social outreach created such a landing place for personal and businesses pagesthat it also has morphed into a community which has blown itself off the charts with phenomenal growth. Youtube went from being a fun place to upload personal video’s to a wide open advertising market, with phenomenal growth continuing as it has and is becoming a tool for businesses & marketer’s having a lower price tag than television. (Consisting of someone shooting the video, processing it and uploading to their site, versus full blown production costs.)
Video itself is ubiquitous – existing or being everywhere at the same time…constantly encountered it also has helped change the market field. Businesses are changing their vehicles from traditional means to places like-YouTube, Facebook, Hulu, Metacafe, Blip.tv, which can host or provide links to user friendly self-help video’s, educational video’s, how to video’s and news-feeds.
Networking has become a part of who we are.
Businesses are reaching out to customer loyalty, which in turn creates “word of mouth” marketing in today’s world on an internet level.This is where Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, YouTube and others have become so important to businesses.People are talking in these places, talking to friends, relatives, and certain acquaintances/businesses. If they like your product or service, they will talk about you, to you, to family, to friends, to neighbors and connect with you.
Online ratings and reviews are an amazing tool that affects consumer’s buying decisions, and consumers really are using this information to make those decisions. Online companies have already realized this and business owners are now turning to this phenomenon as consumer’s are wanting to know how good the product is, how many people are liking the product and more. The consumer has become very active in researching product information. Businesses need to understand this.
Studies show that the average person has around 250 friends, acquaintances, business connections, etc. within their network/social life.Things to focus on – building relationships with your customer/client, not buddy buddy, but really listening to what they need, being helpful, finding the best deals and passing that on, being aware of what’s happening in your region. Keeping in contact with your clients, even sending thoughtful cards to them. These things will bring your customer/client back and open the door for “word of mouth” marketing, whether it’s in person, online with Facebook, Twitter or others.
The magic is this: If one customer likes your product/service, then you have the potential of reaching 250 more through that one connection. If you have 10 happy customers then you have the potential to reach 2500 connections, if you have 100 happy customers ….. well, you do the math
Have you changed your playing field yet?
If you’ve changed your marketing practices…leave a comment in the comment field below and let us know how it’s helped…
If you NEED HELP to change your marketing practices…fill in the contact form below:
With power shifts continuing…marketing is morphing itself into a world that influences your brand, your product and your services.
Consumers have grabbed ahold of Social networks in such a frenzy that those networks have skyrocketed in growth five-fold. Building Social Strategies is vital to businesses surviving in this crucial time. To be successful, marketers must use a strategic, systematic approach in setting up this process.
*Listed below are seven practical ways to be efficient in this strategy.
Socialize content.
Word of mouth with Twitter
Aggregate existing content.
Crowdsource your support.
Sponsor bloggers.
Sponsor events.
Let go with APIs.
*Additional things to do:
Manage social media for the long term.
Start small but plan for the long term.
Accurately prove effectiveness through social application metrics.
Measure based on objective
Develop the right roles.
Social media strategist and community manager
Educate through social media supplements. Like Procter & Gamble’s social media lab
Questions like – What do I need?, How do I begin?, What do I say?…Who to put in charge? Are screaming in marketing departments everywhere. Some companies are just ready to jump on the bandwagon without any long-term commitment. WRONG! Read the following prerequisites and strategies from several great strategists.
