So you’ve joined the social media world…. what’s next? Why are you here? What are you trying to accomplish? These are questions you should ask yourself.
The real motivation for most businesses initiating Social Media is building relationships. You want to connect with people who you can help and can help you. Creating and cultivating connections is a valuable resource for the success of your business; but this takes time, effort and thoughtfulness.
Your campaign fired like a canon and you spent days setting up your accounts, pages, and profiles. Everyone in the office is gung ho, spreading the word to your clients, getting them on board. A few months passed, new projects emerged and slowly your updates and communication have withered away to almost nothing. You are now in “Social Media Purgatory” where your business can be viewed as unconnected, lazy or disengaged, while actually you have just been sidetracked, distracted or plain overworked. Your marketing plan has no system or strategy and its influence has become ineffectual or worse case your competitor may fill the void.
Or…. maybe you are on the other side of the spectrum. You are not only updating your status, advertising new products, and sharing your friend’s posts, but you are doing it on the hour, every hour, every day of the week…. from your smartphone. You may be viewed as over enthusiastic and that too, creates “Social Media Purgatory”.
You hear it all the time, balance in your work/home life, balance in your diet and yes, now in your Social Media marketing campaign. The goal is consistency. Whether you are a one-person business or a large organization, you must make a commitment to be compelling, informative and most importantly present. Develop a roadmap that leaves you accountable but doesn’t run your life. Choose a schedule and stick with it for 90 days. As you find success and failures, revisit it and adjust it to meet the needs of your goals.
We have included a roadmap template that will help you design your own to suit your needs and the platforms you use.
Twice daily in the morning & afternoon
- Check you Facebook page for questions and respond when necessary, also comment on and share relevant or interesting posts in your newsfeed
- Review LinkedIn. Comment on conversations that pertain to your industry
- Scan Twitter for conversations to join, people to follow and saved searches you created
Weekly or on Weekends
- Build Twitter lists to help organize discussions
- Review LinkedIn questions and discussion boards
- Send LinkedIn invitations to connect with clients
- Ask for LinkedIn recommendations after completing projects
- Add new content to Facebook, such as education, photos and video 3-5 times per week
- Write a blog that addresses questions or customer support items
- Review any Google Alerts for brand and company mentions
By Leslie Laney, Marketing Manager for A Business Printing
