Developing a social media strategy
Gain a presence in the social world
Most organisations are now paying attention in the social world. The question is not so much why do we need social media, but how can we be social and use social media marketing in conjunction with our marketing mix.
The benefits to social media marketing
The benefits to social media marketing are well documented and include the ability to:
- Listen to what is going on
- Develop new products to meet demand
- Engage with customers directly
- Communicate with influencers
- Promote your area of specialism
Social media marketing can act as an early warning system providing up to date and transparent information. Social marketing provides an opportunity to develop online strategic partnerships
Social media does not work as a direct selling tool
Social media marketing provides an opportunity to build relationships and create an awareness, but do not expect people to buy from you as a direct result of an online social media message. Companies who have developed good social media marketing reputations, have developed fun, viral messages and campaigns that have raised their brand awareness and credibility. It is the “feel good factor” that customers get from your social media marketing, that helps cement or enhance your reputation, which can increase traffic to your business and ultimately increase sales
- Listen to what is going on
- Develop new products to meet demand
- Engage with customers directly
- Communicate with influencers
- Promote area of specialism
- An early warning system
- Up to date and transparent
- Develop online strategic partnerships
- Social media does not work as a direct selling tool
The SHARE social media marketing model for success
In trying to explain how social media marketing works, Win Marketing has developed its own model – the SHARE social media marketing model for success. This includes:
S for Strategy – know why you are implementing social media marketing
H for Hearing and listening, social media marketing is not just about talking
A for Action – make it happen – persistent and consistent approach is required
R for Reviewing – constantly see what affect you are having, monitor and adjust
E for Engaging – develop trust and start to share information that people will want to share on to their followers
Only after developing a “SHARE” approach to your social media marketing can you claim to start being successful
Strategy for social media marketing
Like any business strategy, social media marketing strategy needs to consider the who, what, where, why, how and when aspects for example:
- Who is your target audience, who will carry out social media in your organisation?
- What will you say, what will you listen to?
- Where should you be listening and talking? LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon – the list is endless
- Why should you be conducting social media marketing? What are your social objectives?
- How will you implement social media marketing? What tools processes and methods of evaluation should you use?
- When should you start?
Five don’ts for social media
- Don’t just talk – listen and interact
- Don’t be boring – share interesting images, videos, content
- Don’t be sporadic – barraging people with content, then ignoring it for weeks or months at time
- Don’t talk like a robot – this is your chance to promote the “human” aspect of your company, people like to relate to people
- Don’t assume they will come to you, be proactive, find people in your industry and communicate with them
In conclusion
Use the Win Marketing SHARE approach in your social media
If you would like to talk to one of our online marketing and social media marketing experts, please phone +44 (0) 1509 265890 or contact us.
