Sharing information on social media provides an opportunity to reach out to customers and colleagues and to network and share information that is valuable to your brand and your business.
If that isn’t compelling enough to get social, imagine you are a physician practicing your specialty for over 20 years. You are concerned about sharing information and blogging via social media. However, your area of expertise is being saturated with social forums (e.g. mom bloggers and other parenting forums) that provide information to a large following. Your voice needs to be heard so your patients receive the information they need, make choices and consult with the proper medical professional. Or, perhaps you are a lawyer who is hesitant (avoiding compliance, advertising and advice issues) to step out of your comfort zone into social media. By blogging, you can share valuable information, have a positive impact helping others and demonstrate leadership in your field.
I find myself comparing my marketing persona to what a financial planner once shared with me: “…everyone wants a quick fix but you need stamina to ‘ride the market.’” Social marketing is not a quick return on investment…it is a journey. Social media is another tool to reach out and share information, build relationships, become a trusted resource and attract new business.
You need a plan to transition from haphazard to strategic, to be a resource to your current clients and, to reach new business and make an impact.
Here are six tips to getting social.
Step 1: Goals & Objectives
Define your goal, plan out your strategy and measure your results.
Step 2: Channels & Communication
Identify which platform aligns best with your target market
- Create audience (buyer) personas
- Identify forums for target market (i.e. FB B2C or LinkedIn B2B)
- Blog
- E-marketing
Step 3: Calendar & Content
Create an editorial calendar and plan themes in advance.
- Inform
- Educate
- Differentiate your business from your competition
(Note: best practices 80% information & 20% promotional)
Step 4: Plan & Promote
Develop and create the content.
Step 5: Integrate & Implement
Take a safe risk, share your creative content and explore what is most interesting and engaging for your online community.
Step 6: Meaningful & Measurement
Track, analyze and measure your results.
Join in the conversation, share your knowledge, increase brand awareness and have fun getting social!
