Using social media to promote your business is rarely effective without some type of organized, deliberate strategy. Short term, haphazard approaches just use up valuable time. You need to make it a specific part of your marketing plans by designing long-term campaigns with concrete goals.
Here are 4 tips for running a social media campaign that will be effective at improving the success of your business
Tip #1: Set Short and Long Range Goals
What do you want to accomplish with your social media marketing? Each social network can help you achieve different goals, so it’s important to identify these before you go a step further. You should have separate goals for the short term and long term.
When you set your goals, make sure they are measurable in terms of the return on your investment (ROI). A social media campaign isn’t about gaining a certain number of followers on Facebook. It should involve metrics around building your business, such as the number of people who visit your site from your Facebook page and then go on to buy something.
Tip #2: Choose the Right Network for your Needs
Just because everyone else is focusing on building a Facebook page doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best venue for achieving your business goals. Look at the strengths and weaknesses of each one and decide which to concentrate on. Your customers may not even be hanging out on Facebook!
Use dedicated social media management tools for tracking the results you get from each network. Then you’ll be able to make an informed decision on which is giving you the best bang for your buck. Be sure to measure the time you are spending on each one as part of your tracking efforts.
Tip #3: Assign Responsibility for Social Media Management
Make it clear who is responsible for each network and campaign. If you are part of a large company, you may have multiple people responsible for your social media. Each person needs to know what the other is doing as part of your overall strategy.
If you’re a solopreneur, you should always be keeping abreast of new developments in the field of social media and on each network. Delegate as much of your social media activity to your outsource team as you can, while making clear their responsibilities and schedule.
Tip #4: Create a Blueprint of your Strategy
An effective social media campaign requires a clear map that details every step. Lay out your goals and strategy first. Determine the key measures you will use along with the different phases of the campaign. What are the exact steps that need to be implemented? What content will you need? Set up your timeline and share the entire blueprint with everyone involved.
[tweetthis]4 tips for effective social media strategy to improve your business success[/tweetthis]
Social media may have started out as a fun way to share with friends, but it is now a powerful business marketing tool that should be treated as such. While it can still be confusing for businesses that have relied on traditional marketing in the past, using social media to successfully promote your business doesn’t have to be any more complicated. Just use the same structured approach you would use for any marketing campaign.
Your turn: What are other campaign strategies for creating business growth?
Deidra Miller
Administrative and Marketing Consultant
