The Importance of Strategy & Implementation in Social Media

Strategy is very important with regard to social media marketing. I know that the first urge, when we hear about so many people/companies out there being successful in social media, is to go out and jump online and start mimicking those successful companies. Of course to replicate success is always a good idea, but that cannot be your only strategy. As overwhelming &/or time consuming as it may seem, it is very important to have a clear marketing plan for your business and for social media to be included in it. Even better if you have a social media specific marketing plan that complements your already existing marketing plan, yet works separately from it as needed.

The majority of social media experts, including myself, will tell you that a social media marketing plan and a strategy for executing that play are the two most important details for anyone desiring to be successful online. I have multiple clients past and present whom I've consulted for in the area of social media and I can tell you that those who have a plan & are working through a set strategy with which to execute their plan are the most successful and/or are moving forward in the fastest most successful manner. The clients who have no plan at all, who have a plan but allow themselves to be distracted by every attractive idea, who have no strategy with which to execute their plan or who are not sticking to that strategy are the least successful and the most stressed. It makes more sense not only for your business, but also for your peace of mind, that you go forward only with a plan and a strategy.

5 THINGS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY & IMPLEMENTATION:

1. BLOGGING - plan how frequently you will post to your blog(s), what your topics are during particular marketing phases (already in your marketing plan), then stick to that schedule.
2. TWEETING - plan what you are going to tweet about & when you are going to tweet it, then stick with that schedule either via directly tweeting or auto-tweeting your tweets as you move forward during particular marketing phases.
3. WRITING - (a bit different than blogging) - plan whether you will be posting articles, blogs, press releases, tweets, Facebook posts, Linkedin posts, articles to your email list or all of the above, plan where exactly all those posts will go, plan the frequency of the posts and then sit down to plan your personal writing schedule. Make sure you include proper time with which to write so that you can be sure to post to all these sources in a timely manner & so that you have plenty of content on hand for anything that may come up.
4. ARTICLES - plan how frequently you will post articles, what your topics are during particular marketing phases, where you will post them, then stick to that schedule.
5. GROUPS - plan which groups you will participate on via LinkedIn &/or Facebook, what topics you will be focusing on during particular marketing phases, join or create those groups as necessary, then stick with that schedule.

These are just a few of the many things you should consider when creating your social media marketing plan. If you don't have a marketing plan for your business or a social media marketing strategy to complement that plan, I'd suggest you get started creating both. There are plenty of great marketing companies out there that can assist you in creating a marketing plan and help you along the way. Of course, I can assist you in creating your social media marketing strategy &/or training regarding how to perform some of the tasks that relate to your strategy. If you need services be sure to email me via the contact me link in my profile page.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

We all want our products and services to just fly off the shelves as people from all around visit our website seeking just what it is we have to offer. Is that what is happening for you? Probably not. Regardless whether or not you're using standard marketing, social media marketing or a combination of both there is generally a time gap between the marketing and the sale. So just how long does social media marketing take for you to see a return on your investment (ROI)?

For me, it took at least 2-3 years before I ever made any money worth mentioning via social media. That time frame isn't necessarily the standard for every person or product but it is a good time frame to keep in mind. Just last week, I listened to/watched two separate social media webinars. One of them was hosted by HubSpot and the other by David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com . Both of these people/groups are very well known and both of them referenced how both the general social media statistics as well as their own experience don't show a significant profit from social media until around the 3 year mark. Why is that? Part of the reason for that is because there is almost always a learning curve & the other part is because social media is a different kind of marketing than other marketing routes. So what is the reason for a person to make a go at social media?

First - everyone is moving toward social media and all of the experts are predicting that any company that is not consistently doing a portion of their marketing on social media within the next 5 years will not be lasting.

Second - social media is a perfect, tangible symbol of the spiritual concept of how we are all connected. I believe that all people are seeking that deeper connection and that quest to find a deeper connection is what pulls them toward social media like an moth to a light.

Third - Social media provides a lower cost of sale. With a properly functioning plan being put into effect, social media can be very cost effective in comparison to the cost of standard marketing. Whether you do your marketing on your own, hire a full time employee to take care of it all for you or hire an outside company, you are still spending less money than you would on comparable standard marketing endeavors.

Fourth - Social media provides you with the opportunity for longer client retention. In social media marketing, you are literally creating a relationship with your customers/potential customers and it is relationships in combination with a good product that creates loyalty in the hearts and minds of those customers. Social media is all about a personal, trust-based business relationship & it creates a feeling between the business and the client that is much like the small mom & pop shop where the owners knew everyone who came in & were willing to help them with much more than a simple sale.

That relationship and that connection is what social media is all about, it's what makes social media work, it's what attracts your customers and potential customers to it like moths to flames. In fact, even if marketing and making money are not the focus, I don't believe it makes sense for the spiritual community to not connect and inspire the world via social media. The general spiritual community believes that there is a deeper connection that unites us all & the world is seeking that connection through social media..... so why not you?

I'd like to share another video with you - This one was shared with me by one of you who receives my newsletter and it happens to go perfectly in line with the video you already watched in the article above. Where do you fall on the bell curve?