Social media is banded about like the elixir of life. It is supposed to be the latest cure all for business brand awareness; increased sales and by implication profits. Unfortunately, this approach to social media is likely to lead to disappointment. Just as iron pyrite glitters and fools the uninitiated into thinking they have struck gold; social media beckons the gullible. For social media to provide measurable return on investment it is necessary to take a systematic approach.
Luckily if you are already using a CRM system to manage your business intelligence then integrating this into an effective social media strategy will be relatively simple if you follow these steps. If you haven’t started using a CRM system then – all is not lost – by adopting a systematic approach to your social media you will have started down the client relationship management (CRM) route and before long – if not immediately – the benefits of a fully integrated social media CRM system will become evident.
So here are the seven steps to ensuring social media success:-
Step one: Begin with the end in mind
It goes without saying that in business for anything to be successful you have to start with the end in mind and social media is no different. The key criteria for social media to be successful are that you need to be able to measure the difference it makes; it has to be cost-effective and scalable. All this boils down to objectives setting 101, i.e. setting SMART targets; determining your metrics and monitoring.
Step two: Choose your platforms
Decide which social media channels best meet your objectives. Social media is predominantly about engagement so in theory, your main objective should be to engage with your community. Social media works best when you provide incredible value so that your customers want to come back time and time again for more. Once you become the “go to” person for them, they will automatically become interested in what you have to offer by way of goods and services to purchase. You have proved that they can trust you with their money. The key questions for your business is which platform offers you the best opportunity to do this and where are your community currently looking for answers to their questions? Answering these questions will give you a better insight into which platforms to initially target.
Step three: Get the most out of what you’ve got
Linked to step two above is step three which involves reviewing the sort of information you have available to you. Creating new content to share on social media is time-consuming, requires practice to get it right and can be expensive. I.e. creating professional video material and other visual or commissioning articles can quickly eat into your budget, if you do not have these skills in-house. In the early stages, when you are working out where best to establish your social media presence you can maximise your effectiveness and reduce costs by taking stock of your existing resources and working out how to repurpose them.
Step four: Create a social media publishers timetable
Planning your content mix, when and where it will appear will make your social media engagement more effective. Posting articles about hot topics and engaging in relevant current discussions will get more engagement from your community. You can also program when it will be best to curate content from others or guest blog and this will leveraging your impact and extend your reach.
Step five: Involve everybody
Make your social media engagement a whole company affair. Rather than implementing it top-down, find the natural cheerleaders within your organisation; people who are used to singing its praises, i.e. sales representatives, frontline staff, and ensure that they are engaged and aware of your social media targets. This is dependent on also having a clear social media policy so that everyone involved understands the scope of their authority within your company’s social media engagement. A clear social media policy means that your advocates are free to do what they do best using your new social media channels.
Step six: Be everywhere
Make it easy for people to see where you are on your social media channels. Include links on your website, corporate communications, business cards, e-mails, signatures, etc. In addition, use appropriate technology to make sure that your growing band of enthusiastic followers are able to share your content easily, e.g. plug-ins and share buttons.
Step Seven: Keep doing what works
Measure your success and repeat. Social media is a slow burn; anyone who claims that you will achieve success overnight or in less than three months clearly does not understand where social media has moved to. Once upon a time businesses could get away with doing nothing but advertising and selling on social media. Possibly as a result of overexposure, people have developed almost genetic resistance to obvious sales pitches and self-promotions. The new rules of social media mean that you have to give a lot before you can get back. So knowing what to give, i.e. what your community want is crucial. The best way to know is to test and measure – asking alone doesn’t always tell you what you need to know because people often say one thing and do another. Testing and measuring is the only sure way to know what works. Familiarise yourself with analytical tools and conduct controlled tests on what you do. That way you can see if your efforts are being rewarded. Whilst conversation is good; in business to be effective on social media you have to go beyond just “talking”.
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