Earlier in this series, we spoke about how incorporating social media into your marketing strategy should be inline with your business goals. Defining your goals and how social media should support them is the first step. Creating a strategic execution plan is next.
Too often, small businesses don’t believe they can benefit from utilizing social media because they are… well… small. They don’t have the same captive consumer audiences as larger corporations so why bother, right? Wrong. No matter the size of the business, the same rules of social media engagement apply.
So how can you kick your strategy into high gear? As social media guru, Brian Solis puts it… With Five “W”s and an “H.”
Who: Identify and target the people you are trying to reach.
What: Learn what are they saying and what is important to them.I will add to this one… Do Your Keyword Homework. Keyword searches are not… and should not be… limited to Google or Bing. Do keyword searches on your social networks too. Follow and engage in the conversations that pertain to your industry.
When: Determine how often are they engaging and when to engage in real-time and at the right time. Capture the trends, insights, activity, and the players that matter to you.
I will add… Pay attention to what is NOT being said as well. It’s an opportunity for you to step in and give the people what they’ve been wanting, needing, and/or missing.
Where: Discover the networks, communities, and technologies that facilitate conversations as you design a “build and/or join” approach.
Why: Define why we should engage, why customers will value our engagement, and why this makes business sense for us based on our objectives and goals.
How: Develop a strategy that communicates how you will add value to the community, the bottom line, and the technologies and channels that will enable engagement and desired outcomes.
Again, be sure your social media strategy is directly inline with your overall business and business marketing goals and you’ll be all good!
How is your social media strategy working for you? Let us know!
