Last month Andy Beard wrote a compelling blog post on social media marketing.
Specifically, his suggestions for making the most of social media marketing include:
- Undefined Goals vs Specific Goals
- Random Activity vs Planned Method of Attack
- Random Stats vs Accountable Statistical Measures
- Random Content vs Planned Content Strategy
- Random Encounters vs Optimized Role Management
- Random Pathways vs Defined Traffic Funnel
- Traffic vs Targeted Traffic
- Topical Linking vs Strategic Linking
- Reporter vs News Epicentre
- Self Orientated vs Customer Orientated
Some of the specific comments in the article that I’d like to highlight include:
With social media marketing, whilst many items are difficult to determine, if you start out without specific goals, you may well be wasting resources.
I can’t think of any advice that is more appropriate. If you want real results for your social media marketing then target the right media. If your target market doesn’t hang out on Facebook then you shouldn’t be there either.
Plan your content strategy around your previously defined goals, not what is happening in the blogosphere. Look on discussions and events happening outside of your niches as opportunities if they are related to your goals, or can be leveraged.
When it comes to planned social content, a tight focus on your goals is almost a necessity. It’s so easy to get sidetracked. Don’t let it happen.
When you enter social media marketing channels, there will be a need for 2-way conversation – with customers and clients, members of the press and bloggers, raving fans and detractors in the public eye.
People do go on holiday, and things will not always go as you plan.
Boy, isn’t that the truth. Make a plan and stick with it. That’s the best way to approach social media. Give one person, or a small team, the ability to make on the spot decisions, but don’t make every decision an “on the spot” decision because then you’re just winging it and that’s a sure recipe for disaster. Know what you are going to do before you do it.
Think out of the box with your linking
Andy’s suggestions on link strategy are a must read themselves. If you are performing any type of social media marketing then you need to be linking. Think it through carefully.
When it comes to social media marketing, you have to be social. Think big. Develop a team.
