*An inside look at how I keep myself accountable and the tools I use to do it*
My clients always complain that they are busy, overwhelmed and just don’t have the time to do marketing. In reality:
Strategy is very important, especially online. No one wants to waste precious time playing on the internet.
Almost every blog I write has something to do with strategy because it is the most essential ingredient to the success of any marketing program.
You can’t get to where you are going if you don’t know where it is or how you plan to get there. But knowing where you want to go isn’t enough. Once you’ve decided where you are going or what you want (your goal) you also need to decide how to are going achieve it (your strategy and tactics).
So many people come to me looking for facebook help. They think the answer to all of their business problems is the right post, what time they post or how many fans they have.
Facebook isn’t the right fit for everyone and it certainly isn’t the answer to all of your marketing problems !!!
For starters, in order you to grow your audience you have to know who they are … define your target demographic already !!!!!
Once you decide who your audience is, then you have to give them information they want, often, that is easy to get. This only happens if you promote your work … constantly.
Who are “they”
This is a big topic (one we will address at a later date) but the first step is getting clear and very specific about who you are trying to attract – then you can focus your content for them. If I can’t tell who your audience is by looking at your content then either can your audience.
A good example of someone who knows their audience is Copyblogger or Tiny Buddha.
Talk about it
You have to promote content first if you want anyone else to promote it for you. Link your facebook, blog, and linkedIN accounts so people can see where you are at. And make sure you have submitted to the online directories like Yahoo and Google to make sure your audience can find you. Don’t forget about your email signature and your business cards too!
Someone who does this better than anyone I know is Trainer James. His content is inspirational, relevant and linked everywhere from his website to his facebook so I can always find it! Trainer James always has the best content (because it is short, sweet, easy to use and constantly updating). He gets so excited about sharing it, I can’t help but get excited to share it too!
Make it easy
Start with the best stuff right up at the top. If it doesn’t start off interesting no one is going to keep reading. Keep it short. If it is interesting they will keep reading, but no one has that much time.
Sandra Possing is a perfect example – her content is always insightful AND funny. She says exactly what I am thinking or feeling in a more insightful and interesting way. I can always rely on Sandra for giving me the latest and greatest from music to workouts! Her delivery is so amazing that I want to share it with people. Imagine, if her blogs are that cool – her classes MUST be ever cooler (by the way they are).
Also if they can subscribe to your content by email they don’t have to remember to keep coming back to your site. I prefer using FeedBurner to manage all that.
Don’t give up
So you are active on all the right social networks for your company (active being the operative word). You are engaging with other people and putting up interesting content. You have your blog and newsletter which is easy to find and you promote your site regularly. Still nothing?
It takes time. Just like any relationship it builds overtime and there is not just a to do list and then you stop. This is something you maintain DAILY. If you can’t make that commitment I suggest NOT engaging just yet or hiring someone to do it for you.
Better to not be doing it then to be doing it badly and hurting your brand!
I have been asked by Suzannah Scully to speak at her FREE event August 10th at the Republic (more details below).
Every business has a story behind it. The biggest things I see my clients doing is not telling their own story.
Your story is a carefully crafted marketing tool that helps people connect with your business. It defines your business and can be used on web pages, in marketing collateral, or on your facebook page.
I talk a lot about the importance of strategy to my clients (and on this website).
You need to be careful not to put the cart before the horse by jumping on the bandwagon of social media without a strategy. “Most people don’t even know what strategy means, let alone how to create one,” says David Binkowski, senior VP of Word-of-Mouth Marketing at MS&L. “Strategy isn’t “Let’s create a Facebook page” unless your goal is “How can we copy cat every other company out there?””
So what is strategy?
These things are are part of your strategy, but they are not your actual strategy. So what IS strategy?
How a battle is fought is a matter of tactics: the terms and conditions that it is fought on and whether it should be fought at all is a matter of strategy. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy]
If your “strategy” is a goal with a list of tactics you don’t have strategy, you have a goal with a list of tactics. Strategy is a much more a creative process than charting out numbers and listing things you need to do.
Don’t underestimate the importance of knowing how your social media strategy aligns with your overall business strategy. In a perfect world, your social media strategy supports your communication strategy which supports your business strategy. So what are most social media strategies missing? Organizational alignment.
How to Define the Strategy in Your Social Media Strategy:
Remember to keep your focus on what is truly essential without getting caught up in the tactics and that the amount of time and effort it actually takes to create, sell and implement a social media strategy is not small.
