Social Media has proven to be the stomping grounds for bountiful, data savvy and targetable consumers. This makes it a very attractive market to all forms of business. Because of the potential that lays in social media, companies often jump into the arena before they're ready, or even if they're not really fit to be there.
It's always important to keep your brand reputation in mind in any marketing venture you take, so don't forget about it when going social! While reputation is incredibly important, determining some sort of ROI on your marketing investments is essential (read The Top 5 Reasons To Budget For SEM for reference here). Follow this guide and you should be on your way to a successful social investment!
Step 1: The Prep Work
Ask yourself some key questions before committing too many resources into a social endeavor. Figure out your goals for social media (likes, engagement, re-tweets, shares, offer claims, etc.). Can you commit the time and money to maintain a social media presence? Do you have a loyal customer following? Is your brand or product inherently social? Are people looking for you on social media? And do you have the technical abilities for social development (including design and development)? Understand where you can excel is important, if your brand fits the mould for a social campaign but you don't have the expertise or time to commit, outsource those hours to a professional who can help you create a successful campaign.
Step 2: The Daily Grind
Outline a clear strategy. Going into this process with a clear set of goals, expectations, and requirements will help keep you on track for social success. Make sure you delegate tasks and roles to people who can commit the time necessary for research, implementation, and most importantly, social monitoring. The biggest part of social media is the real time changes that occur. If you're not monitoring the social chatter, you will likely miss out on trending topics or social opportunities for your brand. There are plenty of free and paid tools out there that can help you "hear" what's going on out there (I recommend using Hootsuite).
Step 3: Measure Measure Measure
Measure your results. Set up monthly or bi-weekly meetings to review the success of your campaign. Are you meeting the goals you've set? Measuring success is important so that you can effectively allocate your business resources. If you've run into a lot of problems, don't see a lot of response, or don't have the time to fully commit, it's important to know when to cut your losses. Similarly, if you can measure areas of success you can push the envelope and take your brand/product to the top of its category.
Social media campaigns can be measured by social authority. The higher the importance and value of your social presence, the greater authority you will have. This is particularly important in terms of Search Engine Optimization and helping keep your website relevant. If you're unsure of your social authority or are looking for more resources on this, free tools such as Klout help estimate your general social authority.
About The Author: Sydney Hadden is a Digital Marketing Manager and contributing writer for Londes.com, a PPC and digital media marketing organization. Sydney's speciality is in paid search digital media.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let Sydney and myself know by leaving us your valued comments.
Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing/Optimisation (SMO), Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related articles:
What Is A Brand And Why Is It Important
Brand Awareness: The Real Purpose Of SEO
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Until my next post on Monday on why quality over quantity is better in SEO, have a relaxing and fun-filled weekend!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
It's always important to keep your brand reputation in mind in any marketing venture you take, so don't forget about it when going social! While reputation is incredibly important, determining some sort of ROI on your marketing investments is essential (read The Top 5 Reasons To Budget For SEM for reference here). Follow this guide and you should be on your way to a successful social investment!
Step 1: The Prep Work
Ask yourself some key questions before committing too many resources into a social endeavor. Figure out your goals for social media (likes, engagement, re-tweets, shares, offer claims, etc.). Can you commit the time and money to maintain a social media presence? Do you have a loyal customer following? Is your brand or product inherently social? Are people looking for you on social media? And do you have the technical abilities for social development (including design and development)? Understand where you can excel is important, if your brand fits the mould for a social campaign but you don't have the expertise or time to commit, outsource those hours to a professional who can help you create a successful campaign.
Step 2: The Daily Grind
Outline a clear strategy. Going into this process with a clear set of goals, expectations, and requirements will help keep you on track for social success. Make sure you delegate tasks and roles to people who can commit the time necessary for research, implementation, and most importantly, social monitoring. The biggest part of social media is the real time changes that occur. If you're not monitoring the social chatter, you will likely miss out on trending topics or social opportunities for your brand. There are plenty of free and paid tools out there that can help you "hear" what's going on out there (I recommend using Hootsuite).
Step 3: Measure Measure Measure
Measure your results. Set up monthly or bi-weekly meetings to review the success of your campaign. Are you meeting the goals you've set? Measuring success is important so that you can effectively allocate your business resources. If you've run into a lot of problems, don't see a lot of response, or don't have the time to fully commit, it's important to know when to cut your losses. Similarly, if you can measure areas of success you can push the envelope and take your brand/product to the top of its category.
Social media campaigns can be measured by social authority. The higher the importance and value of your social presence, the greater authority you will have. This is particularly important in terms of Search Engine Optimization and helping keep your website relevant. If you're unsure of your social authority or are looking for more resources on this, free tools such as Klout help estimate your general social authority.
About The Author: Sydney Hadden is a Digital Marketing Manager and contributing writer for Londes.com, a PPC and digital media marketing organization. Sydney's speciality is in paid search digital media.
Did you find this article helpful? Please let Sydney and myself know by leaving us your valued comments.
Would you like to guest post on the blog? Please use the Contact tab above to get in touch if you write business-related articles or articles on the topics of Internet Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Social Media Marketing/Optimisation (SMO), Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
Related articles:
What Is A Brand And Why Is It Important
Brand Awareness: The Real Purpose Of SEO
If you found this or any of my other posts helpful, don't forget to share the posts to your favourite networks using the toolbar below or by using the "+1" and "Share" buttons located at the bottom of each post.
As ever, if you want to stay up to date with the latest blog posts, don't forget to follow via Google Friend Connect (button on sidebar), on NetworkedBlogs, via Email (maximum of one email per day), on Facebook and Google+ or by subscribing to our blog feed at:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DereksHomeAndBusinessBlog
You can also follow me on Twitter @djones1509, Google+ and on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/djones1509
https://plus.google.com/104849975941505117776
Until my next post on Monday on why quality over quantity is better in SEO, have a relaxing and fun-filled weekend!
© 2013. This article is DMCA protected. Republication is prohibited.
Great Post. Brand building is any activity which influences the customer of your product in a positive manner... a brand is not about a slogan, advertising or marketing campaign only - it is about trust and credibility.
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