In the first part of this article we looked at the fundamental principles of a social media marketing strategy.
In part two of the article we’ll look at how to refine that strategy so that you are in a better position to target your audience and build greater engagement with your online community.
Start small.
Is it worth signing up to every social media platform to boost your brand awareness? Well, it’s certainly tempting, but it can be counter-productive. If you try to be all things to all social media channels you run the risk of spreading yourself too thinly. It’s much better to start small and target your resources at the big players first – Facebook, Twitter and Google+. If you can make a go of these, then you can branch out and spread the word through other channels.
Know your customers.
Any successful social media strategy depends upon knowing the audience. Do you know who you are targeting? Do you know who the influencers in your niche are: do you know how they are interacting with their customers? You need to thoroughly research the market before you throw yourself into these things.
Promote your customers.
When you first start out it’s best to focus on a small number of customers. What you want to do is build a community and to make your customers feel appreciated and part of the brand. So promote them. Share what they have to say, answer their questions and ask for their opinions. Research has shown that customers who feel valued are far more likely to go on to be brand advocates. If you can get your customers to do the brand promotion for you, then you’re well on the road to increasing sales and improving profit margins.
Aim to become the authority in your field.
We all know who the experts are in any given field. We turn to them when we want answers to specific questions. Your goal is become that expert in your niche. You want to be the company customers turn to for information.
Analyse your results.
It pays to always keep an eye on the end game. It’s all well and good getting caught up in the process, but if the process is not producing end results, then the strategy is flawed. Check you analytics regularly. Keep an eye on what’s working, and, more importantly, what’s not. If one part of the strategy is failing miserably, then change it, and re-focus your resources on the areas that continue to deliver. Anyone can attract visitors to a website, but only business that see return visitors know that they are really engaging. Once you can see this happening then you know your strategy is working.
