Business owners, marketing VPs, directors, and managers all looked like deer in headlights as questions about Twitter, Tweeting, Facebook and MySpace advertising and more were discussed at length. Summarizing and paraphrasing, it seemed that the biggest concerns raised were:
- What is social media?
- What is Twitter?
- What is Twitter etiquette?
- How can I use Facebook for business?
- What networks should I be on?
Just like search, print, TV or any other marketing channel, your social media marketing plan should tie back to your overall corporate strategies. For example, if your goal is lead generation, you will have a very different social media markeitng plan than if your goal is one of brand extension.
Someone raised the example of how Dell computers is using Twitter. Last year they sold over $1 million worth of refurbished machines via Twitter. They have a Twitter account with a very specific goal and message of selling refurbished machines. The Green Peace charity has the goal of raising awareness of their organization and increasing donations. These messaging strategies are very different.
Start by asking yourself, what do you want social media to do for you? Why do you want to engage in social media marketing activities? If you can't answer those 2 questions for your business, you shouldn't be in social media.
Once you answer those questions, your strategy should naturally shake out from there. And I offered this advice last night: creating your social media strategy, planning and initial implementaiton should take time. There should be careful consideration to which social media vehicles are right for your business, what your messaging should be like, the frequency of messaging, how to acquire a following/friend base, etc. But once that detailed strategy, planning and implementation are done, the ongoing maintenance of your social media marketing plan should be fairly simple. Literally, if it is taking you more than 5 hours per week, you've done something wrong and you need to regroup.
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