How do you effectively manage social media?
I have multiple social media sites that I never utilize. What would be a good way to start educating your target market about your unique services?
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Sep 25, 2014
First do try and understand what each platforms is meant to do, like Instagram is good for pictures, YouTube for videos, Slideshares for documents and so on.
Then next you look at your contents and what you want to share. Like @Joseph said, it is a community and as a result you need to engage your community. It is not a one-way street, it is a two-way street, that is why it is called social.
Consistency with your contents is key. You do not need to post an 800-word documents, Keep It Simple and Short (KISS), this is the most important part of engaging. You do not want to bore your readers with long and boring write-ups.
Make it a mixture of graphics, information, data, graphs, etc. Infographics is huge right now and as a result, make reading fun with nice infographs.
Sep 25, 2014
First SM is very important in your portfolio. Also job hunters and even clients will check you our on Social media, particularly Linkedin Google+ and Twitter. Some will check to see if you have a KLOUT score which is SM that tracks everyone, supposedly in the world. Find someone you know and ask them how they do their SM integration which I feel should be left to SM experts. That being said I personally use three SM tools daily. Linkedin first; Google+ second and Twitter 3rd. I do all my own posts.Ultimately if you can afford it hire someone if you are launching a new product or campaign.
Sep 25, 2014
Hi Roszette,
I am sure by now you got the idea that you want to not think about it as educating your audience. You have received a lot of great information starting with Joseph. I want to go a bit further. If you find your ideal customer, dig really deep. Where is that target audience? Really focus hard on that. If your target audience is say: a housewife whose children have gone back to school, she is going to be on Facebook and Instagram. But dig deep. I went so far as to determine what type of television shows my customer would watch, then used that and tied it in to a blog article I wrote.
After you have determined your ideal customer, next is branding. Is your product your own or do you work for a company? If you are working for a company and it is their product, then brand yourself. The company has already branded itself and if you later decide to move on you will regret having branded yourself the way you did.
The general rule is that 80% of your content needs to be geared toward your ideal customer and 20% can be advertising on that platform. Because you are just starting, I would make it only 10% advertising. People do not want to be spammed. They go on social media to be social, not to entertained, not to be pitched to.
Next you need to be strategic in your planing of your social media platform. Give variety to what you put out there. If all you give is inspiration, your audience will get tired of it. Throw in humor, and go ahead and be a bit controversial, but put it out there as a question, WHAT DO YOU THINK>>>>> That is going to encourage that engagement that is so important. Throw in a little lifestyle pictures with you or your children. Photos of money are a huge NO NO. You will see those photos that promise the money, but they are spammy as well as illegal.
The advice of engaging with your audience is also vitally important. I would mark off on your calendar two or three times a day to check on any comments so that you are quick to respond to comments.
Your social media platforms are totally different and need to be handled with kid gloves. They will drop you in a second. They will respond to VALUE. If you are giving something that will help them, they will pay more attention to you. Watch some of the Gary Vaynerchuk videos. He says to give give and then ask. Read his books. He is one of many that gives value to his audience and that audience is social media. His manner is very straightforward and sometimes the language is just a bit shocking, but he even uses that with a strategy. One of his quotes that I often repeat is that "We have to market in the year that we are in"
One final thought. People buy from people that they can know, like, trust and respect. Be yourself but take the time to #BetheBestU. Which also brings in hastags, use no more than 3, but use them. Be sure they relate to "Your branding" and use tools to learn which platforms have the best results. You want your key words to be targeted, but also to be appropriate to help people to find what you are putting out there when they search for "Whatever".
Sep 24, 2014
Hi, you can start with facebook, linkedin, twitter. you must create person profile and create pages for business. daily minimum one post on every profile...
Sep 24, 2014
I have a blend of things on my social media pages. Perhaps that isn't right, but I feel that if someone is hawking their wares one hundred percent of the time, people will gloss over the new information and get bored. In my case, since I am an editor and a writer, I post accomplishments and milestones I've passed. Also, I'll put up an occasional humorous meme regarding grammar or books. And, I include noteworthy accomplishments of other authors that I know, too. As long as the information presented is relevant to your business, I think adding a variety of things helps rather than hinders. It's important as well, to not overdo it. You don't want people thinking, "Oh no, not that site again!"
Sep 24, 2014
@Joseph hit the nail on the head. Even if you are a rocket scientist that wants teens to learn about space and your way to reach them is social media - you are not educating them directly. Education comes in the form of conversation. Just like on here. We use MosaicHUB to ask and get insight from other peoples experiences and expertise. We arn't being taught, we are simply picking up on little pieces that resonate with us.
Social media is all about community building. You want to create interest in what it is you are doing. Back to the rocket scientist example...If I wanted to "educate" kids on how far the earth is away from the sun, I would do something interesting that not only shows them, but engages them...and furthermore, makes them want to share it with others they think might be interested.
Think about creating engaging content that will result in a like, or a share. Photos are great on Facebook. That is the form of content that will get engaged with the most. Twitter is for driving people to engaging content elsewhere. Doesn't always have to be something you create...it can also be something that you found that you think your audience might enjoy reading, or having in front of them.
A great tool for managing all of these social accounts is http://sproutsocial.com. Once of the best social management tools I could recommend.
Good luck and write me if you have any questions
Sep 24, 2014
Have a series of concise articles and syndicate them over many platforms, take plenty of time to engage the audience you develop in ways that give you the opportunity to present your solutions.
Sep 24, 2014
Hi there,
We deal with business and political campaigns, and we hear this question a lot from clients.
The first thing I would do is ascertain which demographic target group for your audience uses which social media platform. You want to ensure you are on FB, Twitter, Google+, YouTube to start with, but if a lot of your target demographic is on Pinterest, or Snapchat, or other platform, then you'll want to ensure you have a presence there.
Once you're on, then start putting together a plan that includes when your target audience is reached, the content you want to share, etc. (there are several guides you can find online).
With a plan and tools in place, you want to begin creating, scheduling, and sharing your content. The content will be key, but you want to connect with and engage your potential clients at a very personable, friendly level. If you can display how-to videos using your services, or in your area of expertise, you will get shared, liked, followed, and slowly build up a base online.
The key is quality content, real engagement, and consistency over time. And, it WILL take time.
Hope that helps!
Sep 24, 2014
I would take a look at a powerful social media management platform like meetSOCI. If interested, feel free to contact me as I'm assisting them on their business development/sales front. Click here for a video: http://youtu.be/kQ8uQJ6gzs8
Sep 24, 2014
It starts with a strategic plan and a tactical plan. There are free tools to help manage it all.
I wrote an article for Greater Phoenix SCORE on the 10 Steps to a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy:
http://scorephoenix.org/2013/08/10-steps-to-a-successful-social-media-marketing-strategy/
These videos explain how it all works together:
What is Inbound Marketing: http://youtu.be/5qoHtUVLhjc
What is Content Marketing: http://youtu.be/kJMzeepcIR8
Understanding the Social Media Networks: http://youtu.be/Hi8DUJoINk0
Giselle
AZSocialMediaWiz
Sep 24, 2014
Showcase a mixture of your pieces to your target
audience to v a refund if they are still loyal...
Sep 24, 2014
Hi N- You get what you put into it when it comes to Social Media...personally would highly advise you dedicate time each day (including weekends) to 'engage' potential clients as well as current, and those in potential target demos/markets. You didn't indicate what your unique 'services' are, but if you are unique, and have value...let your product and satisfied customers organically do the selling and promoting for you...no better testimonial than one that comes from a happy customer. We live in a world where the customer has more abilty to add comments, (complaints), and reviews about what they like (and don't). Use social media to allow your customers a platform to engage each other with advice, solutions, links, and stories about how your unique services have made their lives better, simpler, productive, etc...With hashtags, and keywords, you can target and position your message and brand to those most apt to be interested. I hope this finds you well and helps you..best-g
Sep 24, 2014
DO NOT THINK ABOUT IT AS EDUCATING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE!!!
Thinking like that will make you have a worthless social media page. Social Media is about being "social". Is a place to engage with your customers and build a fan base, but this does not mean you are "educating them". If you look at Starbucks and Vayner Media as examples they go beyond what they offer and make conversations. This might be about coffee or it might be about the experiences they have. Heck, it could be about nothing to do with the your business.
Yes, you can share and create content that is related to your niche that your target customers might like. But, your target audience has other interests that you can focus on. Maybe you have a restaurant, you can post recipes but you can also post about how much fun your employees are having or an organization your business volunteered at. You target audience and customers are also interested in that kind of content.
Don't just try to promote your business and sell stuff. You in a community. Think about if you were in a room with all those people. Would you just promote yourself? NO! You would talk about all kinds of stuff. Even about their interests. BE SOCIAL!!!
Sep 24, 2014
First, if you are not utilizing your social platforms, you need to determine where your customers communicate, and start there. For instance, Pinterest is great for visual products, and can have a great CTR to your website, but maybe isn't the best social platform for some B2B or less visually interesting/tangible assets. If you market professionals, LinkedIn might be a good start. It changes for each social network.
Hiring a strong social media manager can help you identify which social networks will reach your target market. They will optimize your materials to allow for proper education of your materials, and help you increase your brand awareness. If hiring is not in the cards, there are several blogs you can read up on which discuss how to best manage social.
Good luck!
Sep 24, 2014
Hey Roszette,
I would say that social media marketing automation will be your best friend. Whether you choose Hootsuite, Buffer, or any of the other tools out there, set some time aside each week to schedule some articles, resources, you own content, and posts about your services/offerings.
Additionally, make sure that there is a reason behind each social channel that you're on - mainly that your target audience is there too. Are you targeting men? There is no reason to have a Pinterest account. Targeting women? then it's a must! So, make sure to do your research on the channels you will spend time on, and that it connects to your audience.
I've also got a great article on my blog that sums up how I manage all my marketing in just 5 hours a week, and invite you to check that out as well. :)
http://www.jessicamcastle.com/manage-online-marketing-in-5-hours-week/
Sep 24, 2014
be consistent in few , write blogs. explain how you solve your clients' problems
Sep 24, 2014
My advice is focus on one Social Media platform and make it your specialty. Without using Social Media management tool, it can difficult. I recommend creating a content calendar so that what you post is original great content. The best site to keep current is http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com.
Sep 24, 2014
Hi there,
You need to update you social media on regular basis and you should post what you want to sale and you need to post as per interest of your audience as well. You can find resources at lower cost to do it.
if interested please let me know.
Thanks
Ankit
Sep 24, 2014
The best way to do it efficiently and effectively is to contract with a social media manager. I am a certified digital marketing professional with a Mini-MBA in Digital Marketing from Rutgers University. My company, Propel Media Group, specializes in managing social media properties, coaching and workshops. Happy to answer additional questions you may have.
Great points Joseph.