Marketing Strategy – 6 Steps to Getting Started with Social Media Marketing

As an entrepreneur you have a successful business, operating from a position of strength and you are respected in your market. You have an established marketing strategy for your business, but your website is old and ineffective.

You realise that you need to adjust your marketing strategy to integrate Online Marketing, as well as Social Media Marketing. But you don’t know where to start, because you don’t have the background and understanding of the latest trends and tools to use, or you believe it will take too long and you certainly don’t have the time.

The purpose of this article is to give you 6 simple steps to getting started with social media marketing, as well as giving you a recommended tool that you can use to integrate online marketing and social media marketing with your existing marketing strategy.

Here are 6 steps to getting started with social media marketing:

#1 Define the Goals of Your Social Media Strategy

Before starting a social media campaign, ask yourself a few questions.

• What do you want to achieve?
• Why are you investing time and money?
• How much are you willing to invest in social media?

Beginning with the end in mind is the key to success. An effective social media campaign can help establish your credibility, reach out to potential customers, and rank higher in the search engines.

#2 Set Up User Profiles for Your Business

Sign up on all the major social media sites. Start with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Create a Facebook fan page for your business. Write a short description of your company and include a link to your website in your bio. Keep your profile informative and friendly – don’t make it overly-promotional. Remember to include keywords you want to be found for in all your profiles.

#3 Engage with Like-Minded Professionals

Search for industry influencers and see how they use social media. Contact them, exchange ideas, and talk about new business opportunities. Share their posts and show interest in their work.

#4 Find Your Community

Find out where your customers/clients are hanging out and how they are spending their time. Use free tools like Twitter Search, Google Alerts, Google Blog Search, Facebook Search, etc. Think of social media as a cocktail party. You are there to mix, mingle, and make friends. Wherever you find your customers is where you should start investing your time and resources.

#5 Participate in Conversations

Social networks are an excellent way to promote your brand. It’s worth joining these sites, and finding people with similar interests to you. Add yourself to groups and communities that share common interests with your business. Understand your customers’ needs and participate in conversations.

#6 Measure Your Results

Set up the tools that you need to measure the results of your social media campaign. Define what your success criteria are. Be patient. Success will not happen overnight. At the beginning, establish a regular reporting process that could be done at the end of every week or month. Make use of analytics tools and adjust your strategy accordingly.

The tool that I recommend to help you create a well-researched, customised Online Marketing Plan in order to guide your company on how to market your products/services to your target market is called Marketing Strategy Profit Planner.

To help you achieve your desired results from online and social media marketing, it also includes a Social Media Strategy template and checklist.

Don’t delay, use the Marketing Strategy Profit Planner today to integrate online and social media marketing with your existing marketing plan.