Do you know the ‘Charlie bit my finger’ video or seen ‘pizza rat’ roaming the streets of New York? These are videos that went viral, and with most success stories, tales of a meteoric social media post going viral can make you believe that the same kind of success is right around the corner for you, too. But usually Twitter and Facebook visitors don’t roll-in in the 100s or 1000s. That doesn’t mean you can’t have success with a social media marketing campaign – it just means that you’ll have to make it work for you.
Utilize your team. Today’s social media marketing is more labor-intensive than traditional marketing models. You have to spend time keeping up with your accounts, interacting with customers, and simply being… well, social.
It’s important to have a strategy. While sites like Twitter are pretty easy to manage on a personal level without too much thought, for your company pages you’ll want to be a bit more deliberate. For example, it makes no sense to have separate accounts (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, etc.) and then simply push the same information out to all of them. Content for your Twitter account needs to be tailored for Twitter, Facebook content tailored for Facebook, and so forth.
Also, it’s essential to understand where your efforts should be spent:
· Is your audience on Twitter or Facebook?
· Are your potential new clients/decision makers on LinkedIn?
· Is your product/service visual and worthy of posting on Instagram?
· Do your potential customers even use Google+?
Making choices that are appropriate for your situation is yet another factor in whether social media marketing will be the solution you were looking for.
Ten years ago, internet marketing was much simpler than it is now. You had a website to promote your business, and that’s it. These days, a successful internet marketing strategy is about so much more than just having a website. Internet marketing involves things like website search engine optimization (SEO), social media networking, pay-per-click, article submissions, and more. If all these aspects of internet marketing make your head spin, never fear, you can certainly hire a consultant or marketing assistant to help show you how to do things. It doesn’t hurt to become familiar with what’s going on and can analyze the results of your marketing strategy.
Probably the most hands-on aspect of internet marketing is social media. As the name implies, you will have to spend time connecting with your audience, which means more than just a one-time effort. Be on hand, preferably on a daily basis, to answer questions and provide guidance (i.e. reply to their Facebook comments, thank them for retweeting your content, like their shares, etc.).
Start building a following by adding people who you think are relevant in your niche, people who already have a strong following, and then engage them in real conversation.
TIP: People love to win things, and if you advertise giveaways and ask your followers to retweet, you might get some decent results within the first few tries.
The next step is then to get people to help you share your content. The people you converse with on a regular basis are the ones who are most likely to help you by retweeting or sharing your links, so nurture as many of those relationships as you can.
The fairytale of viral videos getting you thousands of dollars in new business is possible, but not realistic. Though, being consistent and repetitious with your social media efforts and your team’s hard work is important. If you post or tweet something only once it’s very likely to get buried quickly. You will start to get a feel for how many times you need to say things before people catch on and start to interact with your posts; you’ll start seeing a greater response to your posts over time.
This blog was written by our staff writers. If you are looking for a solid inbound marketing strategy, contact us today for a free consultation, we are here to help! Follow @cogomojo on Twitter, the COGO Interactive Company Page on LinkedIn, and subscribe to our blog, for more tips and resources. Thank you for reading! Your support is very much appreciated.
