Social Media is not a free marketing tactic. It is important to remember that your time is valuable! Here are 7 easy tips to make sure that you are getting the most out of the time you spend promoting your business on social media:
1. List Your Business Activities
What is your plan for your business this year? Break that
down quarterly, then develop your social media strategy to
help promote your business plans. For example, in this
quarter are you hosting an event and want people to sign up,
running a seasonal special on your services, etc.
2. Define Your Goals
Knowing your goals will direct how you execute your social
media plan and will make it easier to measure your ROI. If you
are hosting an event, you can list the event on Facebook, blog
and tweet about it, invite your group members from LinkedIn
to all sign up on your Facebook site. Then, you can measure
your ROI by the number of RSVP's.
3. Target Your Audience
Having a specific audience allows you to target which groups
to join, what information to post and what tone to adapt. By
being specific and relevant, your audience will be more likely to
connect and respond.
4. Be Brief & Relevant
There is only a little space to say a lot, so keep it brief. Don't
just post or tweet to be in front of people, make sure that
what you are saying is relevant to your audience. Being
relevant and helpful is crucial to gaining trust and inspiring
action.
5. Create a Social Media Calendar
Once you have your promotions, goals and audience set, put
channels organized. That way, you can easily manage a blog
posting on Monday with a Twitter announcement, a Facebook
and LinkedIn status update on Tuesday, a discussion starter to
your LinkedIn groups on Wednesday and so on.
6. Don't Forget Your Call To Action
Don't ever forget to tell your audience what you want them to
do, like Call Now! Visit our Website! Read Our Lasted Blog!
Respond to this post! Calls to action motivate your audience
to get involved and connect with you.
7. Rinse and Repeat
Repeat these steps for each quarter. Don't expect your time
on social media channels to decrease as you become more
savvy. Instead, look for your interaction with your audience
to become more sophisticated, bringing in more clients and a
measurable ROI.
