Photo credit: Gabriel Saldana (Flickr)
- Competitors
- Good or service
- Exceptions
- Social tools
The following is a guest post by Pamela Ramos. Her bio is at the end of the article.
Your business creates incredible goods and offers premier services, but how are you getting the message out to potential consumers? For decades, businesses enjoying production after the Industrial Revolution relied on elements of advertising and marketing to spread awareness. Modern-day marketers leverage social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
If business was an exact science, competition would cease; all businesses would perfectly market to targeted customers, but that is not reality. Proper marketing requires researched plans and data analysis; marketers must test the effectiveness of their advertising notions.
Consider the following social media strategy suggestions.
Competitors
‘Drafting’ is a marketing notion, taking its name from racecar driving. Some drivers get close behind others; this tactic eliminates the force of the wind. Companies sometimes do the same thing, using the competition, but for insight rather than speed. What are your main competitors doing with their social media profiles and strategies? Can you leverage their good decisions to make good impressions on your customers?
Before making an initial decision, see what others in your vertical are doing. That way, you can analyze whether it could work for your company too.
Good or service
A variety of social media platforms exist. What platform is best regarding offered goods or services? For example, a shoe store may leverage Pinterest due to the graphic nature of the platform. People pin pictures of things they like, sharing with others. Clothing companies need to ‘show’ people their products – why mannequins and store appearances are essential to the process.
Alternatively, a hardware store may use a platform like Facebook; it is textual and visual. A store may leverage social media to answer customer questions related to DIY projects. The need for answers can help promote the business as well as attract more advocates to the brand.
Furthermore, a consultant may get good traction in using YouTube, making videos related to how they consult, while allowing potential customers to better ‘experience’ the consultant’s personality.
Exceptions
Science is constantly search for exceptions to established rules. Your company needs to look for those as well, using social media profiles. For example, a competitor may have success with a particular social media platform due to some individual ‘x factor,’ such as hiring a celebrity to ‘tweet’ about them on Twitter.
Celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian, accept funds for promoting products on social media. Therefore, a competitor may have more success than your business in using Twitter in that predicament due to the influence of a well-known public figure.
Social tools
How many people clicked on your company’s last tweet? There are social tools, some free and some paid, which help companies measure the effectiveness of their campaigns, allowing them to better allocate time and resources.
For example, a company may invest money in hiring a social media manager to operate its Facebook page. But what are the goals other than simply hosting a profile? Do you want 1,000 more friends by the end of the month? Are any people, who befriend your brand, actually converting to paying customers? Establish concrete goals, and then continuously analyze and test intentions, ensuring theory is aligned with practical actions and purchases.
social media strategyPamela Ramos predominantly writes for business marketing blogs. She has extensive experience as a website marketing consultant. For sales success stories, visit the what Yodle has done for me link to learn more.
This article by Cendrine Marrouat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
