Social media marketing has grown from an interesting idea to a full-fledged discipline in just a few years. With the right profiles, updates, and contact networks, you can quickly and inexpensively create a platform that helps you reach thousands of buyers at once and build brand loyalty at the same time.
The only problem? Social media marketing takes time, and there are too many sites for most small businesses to concentrate on, with more popping up all the time.
With that in mind, how should you know where to devote most of your attention? Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Know the strengths and weaknesses of each social site. Generally speaking, Facebook and Twitter are great for building brand loyalty and sharing quick retail offers or coupon codes. YouTube is useful for sharing “how-to” clips, introducing personalities, and giving details of complex products. LinkedIn can be perfect for online networking, as well as enhancing your credibility.
Of course, we are being very broad and could write several articles on each of these sites. The point, though, is to think about your real social media marketing goal and then choose the medium accordingly.
2. Follow your most important buyers. Conversely, you could always follow your customers to whichever social sites they seem to use most often. That’s particularly important if they talk about your product or industry online.
3. Think about your sales channel. Think about your existing sales and marketing efforts, and how customers typically find out about you, contact you, and complete transactions. Which social media site best fits into that existing framework?
4. Experiment with profiles on all the social sites at first. If you still aren’t sure, you could try experimenting with each one (for a limited number of hours each week to keep your time investment under control) and then study the results.
5. Spread your efforts throughout different campaigns. Regardless of which social media site is most important or profitable for you right now, realize that your tastes or needs might change over time. Don’t be afraid to keep trying new things and seeing what works.
There isn’t any single social media platform that’s going to be best for every company, product, or service. The real key is to think about where your market is and what your short-term and intermediate goals look like. Then, you can find the social site that’s going to give you the best return on your investment of time.
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For more help with social media marketing, contact Weblinx today to ask for a free consultation.