Businesses have realized the power of social media and have increased their presence in social media networks. However, when it comes to marketing, it requires a well thought out plan to use social media to achieve success. Unless a pragmatic schema is devised, the time spent in social media could go waste. You need to understand that social media is more concerned with relationships than mere marketing and hence it might take much longer to see results. It is in fact a long term process and focuses more on brand building and reaching out to the masses rather than direct selling.
Most of the internet marketing strategies of today are those that were born out of research and real-time experiments. Similarly if you are planning on an effective and long term goal, you need to be patient and proactive to achieve them. To begin with, first, draft a plan on what you plan to do and also set the timeline for implementing the plans on step by step basis. Always make them realistic and measurable.
The second most important step is to locate your area of action. With lots of social networks available, you need to determine which would best suit your marketing needs. The easiest way to do this collect the list of social media sites and take time to research them. Instead of randomly getting involved in all of the social networks, choose the right ones that can get you positive results. One other way is to keenly observe the activities of your competitors in the different social media sites. Identify your target audience and conduct keyword researches to attract them to your webpage.
Once you have identified the right place act immediately. Start building up relationships to promote your brand but do not sound too commercial. It is wise to follow conversations and influence people relevant to your industry or those interested in your products and services. It is true that ‘silence is golden and speech silver’ in real life, however it doesn’t work in social media sites. Break your silence and join conversations, post comments, answer questions, and create new friends. Understand that numbers do not help you achieve your goal but the quality of your friends list does.
Do not mask yourself, be bold and face people to create trust. Since the relationship in social media is personal, it is important to gain the trust of people. Simple strategies such as using your photograph instead of avatars can send strong positive waves to your friends. Apart from online relationships, make it a point to attend functions or get-together in person. It would be even better, if you can arrange one yourself.
Once you are into these, you can start measuring the success using the data collected. Some of the elements include the number of relevant friends, traffic increase in your webpage, increase in sales, and the like. You also get an additional benefit of correcting your flaws and adapting yourself to the fast changing trends of people. This will ensure good success in your business.
About Brandon Leibowitz
