In recent years there has been an absolute glut of social media developments and there is no denying it, it has massively changed the Marketing landscape but what should small businesses consider when you’re trying to make Social Media Marketing work?
Social Media isn’t the be all, end all. Don’t get me wrong it can be a great tool but it is not only tool. Social Media should be part of your marketing strategy not your only marketing strategy. Use it in conjunction with other mediums.
Know your audience. Are you in the right place? Social Media is an easy way to reach people but are they the right people. It’s all well and good being Facebook, but if you’re a provider of wiggle sprogetts is Facebook right for you….is Facebook where the purchasers of wiggle sproggetts go when they are looking for a new sproggett.
Set realistic expectations. Don’t expect Twitter to make you the next viral superstar overnight. You’ll need to define sensible goals so that you can track progress.
Make sure you have resource in place. Social Media can be an all-encompassing beast. You need to make sure you have the content, the monitoring and of course the right people in place to make sure you are getting the best out of you social media marketing. Social media isn’t just about selling it’s about starting conversations and relationships with people and that in itself takes a dedicated skill set, so you need to make sure you have the right people monitoring you social media feeds.
Be creative. Social Media gives you the opportunity to be creative, you can add pictures, infographics and videos to your posts. Make them engaging to better connect with your audience.
What else should I do?
Below are a few more digital avenues all designed to complement each other.
Email Marketing – ok it gets bad press and with GDPR, you need to make sure you are only targeting those who want to receive your email BUT if you have clean and targeted list, sending email marketing can be a massively effective way to get your message out to interested parties. You can email special offers, newsletters, tips or anything else that helps build a lasting relationship. And what’s better, is it’s relatively inexpensive
Sponsored search advertising. Great for companies that focus on local business or would have traditionally used the Yellow pages – be warned you may need deep pockets though!
Website and blogging. Don’t let your social media page be your only online presence. Create a website that is engaging and user friendly. If you have the time to blog regularly that’s even better as not only will it keep your visitors coming back it also helps your site’s SEO listings. Social Media works brilliant with blogging as it is a great way to distribute what you post!
We all know time and money is limited so it’s essential that your Marketing Strategy be as effective as possible, so a quick word of warning though, don’t adopt any of these strategies half baked. A Facebook page with no content is a depressing as a web page which hasn’t been updated for 2 years. A well thought and cohesive strategy which includes just some of the above will be more successful than adopting all of them and losing sight and structure six months down the line.