Many people believe that social media consists of only Twitter and Facebook. They also believe that creating profiles on these two social networking giants will get them instant results. The truth is that a proper social media marketing campaign requires a strategic plan. How do you create a social media marketing strategy?
Having an internet marketing strategy is very good, but having one that works is even better. Whether you are measuring positive ROI on your social media initiative or saving your business online, creating a social media marketing strategy strategy is one of the first steps you should do when jumping onto the social media bandwagon.
Research what others are doing
Many businesses jumps on Twitter and Facebook without even researching and analyzing what they really need out of these channels. You will also find that most of these businesses will claim that their competitors are using those channels so they have no other choice than to adopt social media as well.
Sooner or later these businesses will be caught off guard and their social media efforts will reach a dead-end because they don’t have a strategy in place. It is vital that businesses understand and analyze how social media can help them. They need to closely observe how people are currently using Web 2.0 and how their competitors are using it. Analyze your business objectives and how you can use some of the available social media channels to reach your goals.
Action plan
Once you have researched and analyzed how you can use social media, the next important question is how you can achieve your goals with this medium. Create an action plan with realistic targets and time-frames that you can use with your social media strategy. If your action plan takes a long time to achieve its goals, or if you are spending more than you are getting out of it, there’s a strong chance to revisit your strategy and change it where necessary.
In my experience, it is always best to start with concrete short-term goals and then expand your action plan to bigger long-term goals. By using short-term goals and reaching them in your action plan first, you will have a foundation that you can already use to expand your campaign.
