Social Media Strategy Article

Do You Need A Social Media Strategy
 
For Your Business?

The Controversy Explored…

 
by JC Dawkins
 
 
We all hear that Social Media have experienced tremendous growth, but…

Are you still wondering what the benefits of a social media strategy would be to your business?  Has the debate over the real benefit of a social media campaign left you wondering what you should do?

This article will review both sides of the controversy over this topic to give you some points to consider in deciding what is best for your business.

We will cover the what, why and how in two parts for ease of reading.

Part I
A. The What–What are Social Media?
B.  The Why–Why should you care?

Part II
C. The How–How you can get started?

Part I

A.  The What…

Social Media (SM) is a means of connecting with others, and it supports the human need for social interaction.  The common tools or social networks include Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Social Networking describes the socialization or interaction of individuals with common interests via SM.

Social Media Strategy enables you to use social networks, online communities, blogs and any two-way Internet media to promote your business or site.

B.  The Why…

Here is a summary of the two sides of the controversy over the real benefits of social media to businesses:

The Pros – Businesses can no longer avoid Social Media.  SM have been experiencing a surge in the number of people participating, and, as a result, it is getting more difficult to run a business online without a social media campaign.

Many people believe that the interactivity of social networking and the engagement that is inherent in SM alone make it the wave of the future.  Additionally, because SM have become some of the most affordable means to reach customers, business owners should have the goal of harnessing the power of an effective social media strategy.

Advocates feel that the question is when you will get involved in SM, not if you will, and your business success will depend on how you use it.  They believe that SM is a necessary part of online business, and if you do not get involved in these communities, your competitors probably will.

The Cons – SM marketing requires an investment of time, and the ROI (return on investment) is difficult to measure.  Some people say SM is all about conversations, not conversions.

They say that the time demanded to do SM marketing is best used on SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click), because the masses go to search engines when they are ready to buy a solution to their problem.  So, why not invest your time and resources there?

The benefits of SM are intangible.  Those who claim that social networking is converting are exceptions to the rule.

Continue reading…Part II continues below.

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Part II

C.  The How…

Success with a social media campaign depends on the business niche and the execution.

There is no cookie-cutter approach for getting started in social media marketing.  Your social media campaign will depend on:

1.  What are your goals?  Why do you want a social media strategy?

You must have a clear definition of what you want to accomplish with SM marketing, and you must be able to measure your results.  Like any form of marketing, your social media campaign must demonstrate value and be measurable.

It is generally agreed that SM is very beneficial for attaining certain goals, including brand building, relationship management and customer interaction.

Do you want to boost traffic, cut marketing costs, grow subscribers, or grow your marketing list?

2.  Who is your audience?

You should know your market and understand its needs before you create a social media strategy.  Then you can target your audience by determining which sites would be most related to your issue, business, company or topic.  Your next step will be to engage that targeted audience in a systematic approach to network and build relationships with them.  This includes delivering a content strategy by carefully calibrating your outreach to build interest.

3.  What are your resources?

You can set up an account for free on most SM sites.  However, you will need to invest time to respond to visitors’ questions, to make posts, and to track activity and results.

As noted previously, a social media campaign requires an investment of time to ensure that your business is successful in the use of SM.  An investment of a few hours a week may be sufficient for a small business, and a few hours a day may be good for a larger company. For many businesses, a virtual assistant (VA) can be hired to create and promote content.  A VA is someone who manages a business’ SM accounts.  The business may even be able to pay a VA on an hourly basis.

4. What is the value proposition? What value are you giving?

The power of social media is found in rewarding people who relate with you by fulfilling their needs, at the time they search for it, in the way they want it delivered. In other words, how good are you at giving them what they want, when the want it, and how they want it.

 
Conclusion

A social media strategy is a powerful, low cost, promotional strategy that should be integrated into the marketing mix to generate traffic to your site or business. However, success depends on whether you execute the social media strategy properly, whether your business niche is right for this marketing media, and whether you satisfy the need. I think most people would agree that people overwhelmingly trust personal recommendations more than ads. If a social media strategy is executed properly, it can generate personal recommendations for your business, company or product.

 
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I am the author of JCDawkins.com and the “From the Inside…Out! Newsletter. I welcome your comments in the Leave a Comment section below.

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