Just How Social Are You?
Facebook page...check. Twitter account...check. YouTube
channel...check.
Too many companies are looking at social media as a To Do List
and bypassing the most critical element to success, an ongoing
strategic plan. And they're about to find out why.
Social media management company Vitrue recently released the Social Page
Evaluator, a free tool that can determine the value in dollars
of a brand's Facebook page. Using the tool, you can also compare
your page to up to three other brand pages. My guess is that
company after company is being disappointed by the numbers they're
seeing.
Just having a presence on social media isn't enough. Facebook,
twitter and the like aren't necessarily the answer to your
decreased budget and minimal resources. They're simply new tools to
help you communicate with your audience. The same rules of
marketing still apply.
1) You need to start by identifying who it is you're speaking to
on these platforms. Your audience may be different than what you're
used to.
2) Then you need to uncover exactly what it is they're
interested in and how your brand fits into that. What value can you
provide?
3) Next, you need to develop a strategic plan for engaging your
audience and starting a dialogue. Think Big! It could be a
campaign, contest, quiz, or even a persona you develop to speak to
your audience.
4) Promotion. You can't expect fans to fall from the sky. You
need to drive them to your pages through traditional marketing. Add
links to your website, email signatures and e-blasts. Leverage
print and online media buys.
5) Finally, you need to commit. Commit dollars, personnel and
time to your social media efforts. Success won't come overnight,
but if you make the commitment, you'll see the value of your
efforts increase.