Digital marketing glossary
Social media can be a fantastic way to market your business. It’s certainly received a lot of hype from the marketing community, and now it is almost expected that a business has to include social media in its communications mix.
While social media can be a fantastic marketing tool, I have seen businesses wander into social media marketing without really thinking it through, or understanding what it takes to be successful.
So here are six questions I suggest you consider before you embark on social media marketing for your business.
- How does social media fit with your business and marketing strategy?
Social media isn’t a replacement for the serious thinking about your business. You still need to work out who your customers are, deeply understand their needs, understand your marketplace and competitors, and have a clear picture of where your future growth and opportunities lie. Without those things, whatever you do in marketing, you’re going to flounder. Social media is no shortcut to this thinking process, and no exception. - Are you ready for a conversation?
If you’re expecting to simply pump out your communications and get results, think again. Social media is about people, and people talk back! This interaction is part of the strength and joy of social media. But it also has another side to it, as not everything said about you and to you on social media will be positive. Are you ready to listen to what they say, in public, good or bad? Are you ready to respond, promptly, positively, graciously, and apologise if necessary? Are you prepared to be open and vulnerable? Social media demands a different kind of attitude to marketing. - Are your target customers on social media?
It’s easy to say “everyone’s on social media!”, and although millions are, there are many who are not. Don’t assume that your customers or prospects are active social media users – do your research and find out. Ask them, if you can – find out what they use, if anything. Also, do remember that if you’re working in business-to-business sales, it may be the marketing department who will be running your customer’s social media account, and not necessarily the decision maker you want to reach – look for individuals rather than companies where you can. - Do you have the time and discipline?
Success on social media demands consistency – a regular programme of checking, listening, and posting. Being sporadic will have limited impact. And not sticking with social media once you’ve started is worse than not doing it at all – it’s awful to see an out of date profile that hasn’t been updated in months. You need to invest a certain amount of time regularly to get results. Conversely, you also need to be disciplined with your time, as it’s easy to spend too long and drift unproductively. - Are you expecting instant results?
Social media is a long-term commitment. You won’t get results if you “do it for a couple of weeks and see”. You need to plan a programme, commit to it, try things and learn, and measure results closely. Measuring is vital – not only does it form part of your social media learning curve, but it will help you quantify the return on the investment of your time. - Is your website ready to convert traffic?
Once a social media user has spotted your business on Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn, the chances are their next stop will be your website. Is your website ready to convert their interest into an action? Perhaps to sign up to a newsletter, download a white paper, or even progress to an online purchase? Your website needs to have a clear flow and purpose, with strong calls to action and datacapture. There’s no point in driving social media traffic to a website that will just make them click away.
If you need help to decide if and how social media could work for your business, get in touch. We offer digital marketing consultancy and training.
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