Social media has many business owners and marketers dumbfounded.
In fact, a recent study shows the majority of business owners are NOT getting any business from their social media marketing efforts.
The dangerous part is…social media can suck up your time like a black hole. Just ask any business owner or marketer who has tried it. It would be amazingly frustrating if you didn’t get any results from it after all that invested time and effort.
To save you a bundle of time and frustration, this article will give you some pointers to do social media marketing the right way. So you can save a lot of time, money and effort…and spend that time on the golf course instead!
Do not Silo Your Social Media Marketing
What do I mean by this?
See the thing is most business owners think of various social media channels as a silo, and they work it that way. The truth is effective social media marketing does not work on a silo basis.
Let me explain what I mean. Most business owners decide that Facebook or Linkedin, for example is their primary means to reach their customers.
So they focus on that one channel and neglect the rest. Not that it is wrong, but it can be much more effective by having an integrated strategy.
I guess a graphical illustration would be best for me to explain this.
If you think of an Octopus, its tentacles are the various social media platforms. Each tentacle has the potential to reach and touch your prospects. The more tentacles you have touching your prospects, the more likely they are to become your customers as there will be more touch points.
The body of the Octopus, the hub of it, should be your blog, where you update your blog with fresh articles as frequently as possible.
The tentacles should ultimately pull your prospects to your blog that has quality content. And aim to sign them up to your mailing list or a low-price offer.
This octopus technique is the key to a successful social media strategy.
That’s why you need to make sure your various social media pages are updated regularly and your blog has fresh, quality content at least once a week.
I won’t get into the details of it, but you can and should invite your prospects to connect with you on as many social media platforms as possible. Get your Twitter followers to like you on Facebook, your Pinterest followers to follow you on Twitter, and your Facebook likes to connect with you on Linkedin.
You get the picture. The more contact points you have, the more you are in front of mind of the prospect and the more likely you are to convert them into a customer.
It’s NOT About Number of Likes, or Even About Engagement
Yep, you read that right. It’s not about the number of likes or even engagement on your social media pages. Does it help to have lots of likes and comments on your posts? Absolutely!
But the danger here lies in the fact that many businesses are getting likes and engagement as the main measurement for their social media efforts.
I could for example, post a video of a cute baby playing with a puppy on my Facebook page. Will I get tons of likes and comments?
Absolutely!!
Will I get lots of comments and engagement?
YES!
Will I move them one step closer to being my customer?
Probably NOT.
And that’s the danger of it…by using the wrong measurements as KPIs many business owners are missing the whole objective of social media.
By refocusing on the right KPIs you can come up with a better strategy that will add value to your prospects and be ‘front of mind’ as an expert and authority in your niche.
Consistency and Patience
A sustainable social media strategy that produces results requires consistency and patience.
Asking someone you just connected on Linkedin yesterday to buy your stuff is not going to work. In fact, you are likely to be ‘disconnected’, and worse, you could be marked as a spammer.
Yes, if you are advertising on social media using Facebook or Twitter ads for example, by all means, please be direct and go into sales mode.
But, if you are connecting with someone on social media for the first time, DON’T ask someone to buy your stuff right away.
Instead, use a ‘front of mind’ strategy to add value to them, by being helpful and creating content that can help their business (such as this article).
Over time, build yourself as being an expert and authority in your field, so that people will seek you for answers to their questions.
Yes, it takes longer, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither will your social brand be built in a day.
Many marketers use the dating analogy…you don’t ask for marriage on the first point of contact because you are going to freak them out! You might just start with a coffee date and take it from there.
I have outlined above the strategy I adopt for my clients and for my own social media marketing…would love to hear your thoughts below!
