Seven Important Rules A Business Needs To Harness The Power Of Social Media Marketing!

1.) You Need a Strategy! Businesses shouldn’t confuse tactics for strategy. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are complex tools that can be harnessed for social marketing. Don’t just create a fan page, don’t just make a profile and start a twitter feed, don’t just post a few videos to YouTube. Some call this broadcasting and it rarely produces the results you want.  If you identify why you are starting to use social media and what you want to do, then you can develop a suitable social marketing strategy.  This will help you create a vested community around your business, your product, your service. You will identify how social media marketing can help you reach your goals. If you don’t create a strategy, you are just initializing tactics.

2.) You Need To Get Involved, Get Engaged! Most people make a big mistake in only broadcasting on their fan page. What you should spend your time on, after creating a strategy, is to provide your fans with engaging and relevant information, contact, and interaction regularly. They should do this in a way that is genuine personal and genuine. A business needs to ensure that their fans feel a connection with the business, that it is about interaction not just broadcasting a simple message of “be our customer” or “Buy our product or service”. It’s about good-old word-of-mouth marketing. That is part of the spirit behind social media marketing, behind Facebook marketing, Twitter marketing, YouTube marketing. A business will create social marketing success when it creates an engaging, genuine, interactive, meaningful relationship with its community of consumers that have “liked”, “followed” or “subscribed” to their “page”, “feed”, or “channel”. Businesses shouldn’t just focus on text though, they need to make sure to post media as well. People enjoy looking at pictures and videos (usually remember them more too) and it gives them a good reason to visit the page or feed regularly. If you are able to “tag” photos, it is one of the best ways to draw the in your audience. Another thing a business can do to help engage its audience is let them engage back! Letting and encouraging fans and subscribers to post and share their own videos and photos that involve the business or product will give them a sense of being an active part of the business’s social media community. There are possible risks here but minor ones and as long as the business pulls back if things get out of hand then there will be no issues. If a business shows their fans they trust them then their fans will respond.

3.) You Need To Be Exciting And Personable! Another mistake businesses make is being too boring or too predicable with their interactions on their social media platforms. What better way to pull the rug out from under their own platform than to have a great strategy, get engaged, interact and then have that interaction be BOORING! Businesses need to keep in mind that social media platforms are social places.  They are not billboards or network commercial time slots. People will share things that are useful, funny, interesting. A business’s interactions on social platforms should be based on what their community would want to share, it should compel them to share it! The moment posts become boring or predictable, like advertising on every post or only sharing how much the new product or service costs and why they need it from you, that is the moment fans go away. They don’t come back for a visit or worse– “unlike” the page or unsubscribe from the feed or channel! The best thing to do is to mix things up! Businesses utilizing social media need to think like a consumer or, better yet, a regular person! The point is, make the posts interesting, entertaining, exciting and personal.

4.) You Need To Learn The Social Media Platforms’ Procedures And Tools! If the business does not learn the intricate functionality of the social media they employ in their marketing then the business will fail to create the finest brand experience. If a business does not familiarize themselves with the audience and the communities of the different social media platforms, you are likely to “shoot yourself in the foot”.  Social media is a tool and you need to learn how to handle it properly. For instance, if you do not utilize a welcome page or “like-reveal gate” on your Facebook page, you will be wasting much of your effort. Likewise, learning to use built-in analytical tools will assist in identifying the most engaging content to fans and help provide you with the inspiration and a basis for new content that will have a high engagement and participation factor.

5.) You Need To Understand The Terms And Rules! The majority of businesses whom utilize social media do not take the time to familiarize themselves with the rules and terms of use. When a business violates the terms or conditions of the social media platforms they create a presence on, they will most definitely lose fans, quite possibly have their page, feed, or channel suspended or removed, and will likely find it hard to redeem themselves. It becomes difficult to get back those fans and subscribers they lost or to attract new ones, as they have tarnished their brand on a social media platform and news goes VIRAL, EXTREMELY FAST on such platforms. The business needs to invest time in learning the rules of each platform they utilize while familiarizing themselves with how to properly build up their presence, their audience and their community as well as, how to sustain them. Social media is about interacting online with people in the same spirit that you would offline. Social media can be a huge asset to a business, especially small business, because it allows them to create online communities around their product or service and foster personal connections with their online audience. That is something that is harder for a large business to do. Any business that learns to use social media, avoids mistakes, and in turn uses it to it’s greatest advantage will be gaining invaluable leverage and have the highest value of social media at their disposal.

6.) You Need To Invest! It is said that to create ultimate success, the one thing a business needs to do most is the one thing it does the least. This is so true when it comes to social media. Most businesses, especially small businesses, are highly reluctant to invest more time in things that are not directly related to their business. An example is something new to the owner like social media marketing. Many people make the mistake of not investing enough in social media. They underestimate the amount of time it takes to create a successful marketing strategy and to create an engaging, authentic, interactive, and vested “community” around their business. It takes time to learn how to implement properly, to take advantage of all the tools at their disposal. If you simply just set up your page or start a feed or post a few videos on your channel then leave it and forget it, then and only then, does an owner waste their valuable time on social media marketing. Once you have a strategy and you have engaged a community, then you must stay committed. It should be a simple decision when you consider that most businesses don’t even get that far and are way behind the curve. Because they do not try, they are missing out on an invaluable resource which can help them grow and prosper.

To harvest a bountiful social media crop you must cultivate and work the field. You must take the time to interact. This means responding in a timely fashion after a member of your social media community posts a message or asks a question. Never delete a negative post, respond to it appropriately.  This will show your community your level of customer service more than several positive, glowing posts. People have a natural tendency to not believe a series of five star reviews without any negative comments. Nobody is perfect, especially a business that deals with people. If it does not appear to be real, people assume it is like plastic food–it only looks good on the surface.

Social media needs to be monitored regularly and constantly. You need fresh content and new material added on a regular, consistent basis. The more often the community can access the business, the more they will engage and be open to being engaged by you. That is when your business will be rewarded for the investment, tenfold and that is the simplest explanation for why a business should invest their time in social media marketing!

The other thing that businesses are reluctant to invest is money. They are in the business of making money not spending money. You, most likely, will have already spent a bunch of money on advertising that did not pan out, am I right? Well here are some more things that probably will not surprise you and certainly do not surprise us (not much does anymore); statements that are said often when it comes to social media marketing. These include, “I don’t have time”, “I already spend a lot on marketing”, “We’ll just have the intern handle it”, or my personal favorite, “But Social Media Is Free!”. There are many other false perceptions generated by mostly valid fears that get in the way of businesses being able to leverage social media properly and reap great rewards but the answer to all of them is “That is why businesses need to invest in social media, to build their social networks and do it right!”

This brings us back full circle to “The one thing a business needs to do the most is the one thing it does the least”, investing money in social media to ensure its success.

This is one that will garner high ROI as long as a business has… what again… right, a strategy, and a desire and commitment to build and engage a community via that strategy. Investing money on things that can help businesses to those two ends will greatly increase their chances of success in social media marketing. Working with social media marketers will invaluably help a business build an effective strategy that fits their business and it’s needs as well as helping to construct, update and maintain a social media presence and how it is branded to the business, how it ties in with their website and is synonymous with their previously established branding will solidify the business’s social media presence.

Enlisting experienced and knowledgeable marketers becomes very helpful if not necessary when it comes to not only monitoring a fan page, Twitter feed, or YouTube channel and interacting with the community that was built around the business but also in answering questions quickly and correctly while combating negative feedback constructively and professionally. All this and more can be handled by social media marketers along with guidance and teamwork with the business to ensure the business is as in touch with their audience as those they hire to handle it for them. Likewise, having social media marketers who know and stay tuned to the rules, terms, and conditions means you don’t have to worry about screwing something up or doing something wrong that could undermine everything good done before it. They will also see changes coming sooner than the average Facebook fan page user or uninformed business owner. This will all create a much more productive and positive venture then “Having the intern do it” or having the business owner do it all themselves, after all, time is money, is it not? You might have a great intern or two who can make a nice effort of it but when a business hires knowledgeable social media marketers, they not only forge a mutually beneficial business relationship but also the marketer has a very vested interest in helping the business reach their social media marketing goals and will garner faster and more productive results than say, an intern.

7.)…and this is the BIGGEST NEED OF ALL…You Need To Be Utilizing Social Media, Period! I think that says enough….but just in case it doesn’t make the valid point it intends…let me finish by saying EVERY business should bear in mind that there are over 350 MILLION users on Facebook alone (that number climbs every minute of every day!) and EVERY business’s customers are there. There are thousands of customers looking for YOUR business, they are actively trying, wanting, to find YOU. Social media including Facebook can help get you together and help you to build a mutually beneficial and rewarding relationship with each other, which is the truest spirit of social media, building rewarding relationships online, in an extremely viral and massive way!  Social Media Marketing is harnessing that spirit and leveraging it to drastically improve and grow your business!

Profitable ideas and techniques for advertising on FacebookTap into the explosive growth of social media and reach your customers with effective Facebook advertising campaigns and savvy insights into how to use this social media phenomenon effectively. It’s all here and more in this detailed, easy-to-follow guide from two award-winning marketers. You’ll learn what makes a good Facebook ad, how to apply the latest strategies and tactics for effective pay-per-click and cost-per-impression

Read More

“Clara’s book is a fun read and can be useful to anyone who wants to learn more about this powerful new era we’re in of social business.” –Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos   NEW Best Practices and Techniques for Growing Your Business with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn! Completely Updated! • Five new chapters: planning/metrics, customer service, and much more • New and revamped case studies • New guest contributions from world-class experts, such as Charlene Li • New,

Read More

The All-New, Up-to-the-Minute Guide to Facebook® Marketing: Better Techniques, Better Results!   In this completely revised book, top Facebook marketer Justin R. Levy shows how to use Facebook to attract more customers and earn more profits. This isn’t hype: It’s actionable information based on the real experiences of companies and individuals who’ve used Facebook to supercharge their businesses and careers. Levy covers it all, from the absolute basics to attracting visitors and

Read More

The condensed guide summarizing everything you need to know to help your business win in the Facebook Era: Learn tools from effective strategy to profitable execution, systems, and policies.   Like the Internet before it, Facebook is changing every aspect of business and society. Facebook has in fact become, for all intents and purposes, the new Web. What does this mean for your organization?   Fifteen years ago, we had to master email. Today, we must master Facebook to stay relevant with

Read More

Stop pushing your message out and start pulling your customers inTraditional “outbound” marketing methods like cold-calling, email blasts, advertising, and direct mail are increasingly less effective. People are getting better at blocking these interruptions out using Caller ID, spam protection, TiVo, etc. People are now increasingly turning to Google, social media, and blogs to find products and services. Inbound Marketing helps you take advantage of this change by showing you how to get

Read More

“People in all demographics and regions of the world are more connected than ever before to the products, issues, places, and individuals in their lives. This book recognizes that we’ve come to a place where people can represent their real identity–both personal and professional–and use the social filters on the Web to connect with the world around them.” –Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook   “…A must-read for CEOs and other executives who want to understand

Read More

A completely revised and updated edition of the BusinessWeek bestseller on effective, modern marketing and PR best practicesThe New Rules of Marketing and PR shows you how to leverage the potential that Web-based communication offers your business. Finally, you can speak directly to customers and buyers, establishing a personal link with the people who make your business work.This new second edition paperback keeps you up-to-date on the latest trends.New case studies and current examples are

Read More

Create bold web content and build a loyal customer base onlineBlogs, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other publishing platforms are giving everyone a “voice,” including organizations and their customers. So how do you create the bold stories, videos, and blog posts that cultivate fans, arouse passion for your products or services, and ignite your business?Content Rules equips you for online success with a one-stop source on the art and science of developing marketing content that people care

Read More

The bestselling bible for social media is now completely revised and updated!The Social Media Bible, Second Edition (www.TSMB2.com) is the most comprehensive resource that transforms the way corporate, small business, and non-profit companies use social media to reach their desired audiences with power messages and efficiency. In this Second Edition, each of the three parts – Tactics, Tools, and Strategies – have been updated to reflect the most current social media trends.Covers all major new

Read More