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.

Flying By The Seat Of Your Pants Will Always Result In A Crash Landing

I know what it is like to just be ready to go when you're starting something new in business or starting a new business all together. You know you have good products &/or services that are worth the money you want to charge for them. You know that you need and deserve the money that would come from the sale of those products and services. It's only natural to want nothing more than to jump at each and every chance to make those things start flowing out of your field of view so that the money you receive for them can start flowing in. I've seen it be done over and over again though, where company after company and individual after individual either motivated by excitement or by fear or anxiousness, jumps into selling without a real plan &/or without sticking to the plan they may have created.

ALL SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES HAVE THE FOLLOWING AS A MINIMUM:

1. A planned marketing focus that goes as far out as possible on their calendar
2. A play by play plan on how/when they are going to market each of the items on that marketing focus set out on a timeline as time moves forward
3. A checks & balances system to insure that their promotional efforts are accurate, of good quality and aesthetically pleasing to the potential customer's eye. Paying attention to the details is very important.
4. A priority list & plan for what steps to take if/when things change due to unforeseen circumstances
5. A requirement that anything new that is added to the plan does not hinder that which is already in process and in place

WHY ARE THESE THINGS IMPORTANT?

I want you to imagine, for a moment, how things work in nature. If a particular species wishes to continue along in the world without becoming extinct, those capable of reproducing must take certain steps. A male cardinal, for example, must first begin doing the work of attracting his mate by eating properly, learning how to build a sturdy nest, getting the proper exercise, choosing a suitable location from which to attract his mate. Only after accomplishing those things will he be successful at attracting her. Once he has done all of that, he then begins to seek out the perfect female to produce with - it takes a bit of time, but eventually he will find a match and you can guarantee there will be no lack of competition, which is why his first steps will come in handy.

Upon choosing his target mate, he must then begin going step by step through the processes that will attract her to him above all others. He must, under all circumstances, stay focused upon that one target mate if he is to succeed. If he allows his focus to waiver, even for a moment, that is the moment his competition steps into the space he provided and takes the attention of his target. If he decides that his focus is on promiscuity and fun, rather than on spreading his product, then he becomes easily distracted by every female cardinal that flies by while he is in the midst of his mating ritual & in the end the likelihood of him having the chance to spread his product will be nothing more than a 50/50 toss-up between being a complete failure or merely a lucky fluke. The only logical time for that male cardinal to take his focus off of his primary target is either when he reaches the extreme of failure or success. Only then must he move on to the next target. If he focuses on too many things at once, he will never have the time or energy to complete them all with any sort of success.

This is exactly what you must do in your own online marketing situation. Prepare yourself for attracting your target customer/niche. Get a website up, Create a way to collect email addresses, Create an email distribution schedule to communicate with those on your list, Know your audience and plan relevant topics to share with them, Create a blog, Create Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn accounts & pages, YouTube Channels etc. and plan exactly what will best attract your target customer/niche on each of those channels. Stay focused on your plan and your niche only changing when your target niche changes or when an unforeseen circumstance occurs where you have no choice but to cancel your focus.

There is a certain maturity that customers expect when working with someone in business & more than that, it is the logical and linear flow of nature that we must follow a plan in order to continue with success. When I consider those who are just living life without a solid plan that takes priority, those who are easily distracted from one thing to the next based on not much more than a goal of finding the quickest path to being satisfied & happy - the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a toddler crying over their mom leaving them at daycare and their caregiver dangling a toy in front of them. The speed at which they lose their focus on keeping their mother there, is a direct reflection of just how quickly their mom is willing to leave. In business no one wants to be a toddler - our goal is to be mature in business and proceed with a linear, logical approach to a focused plan. I urge you all to set a clear plan & keep yourself informed on the time & energy it may take for you or your staff to complete that plan with any success before allowing yourself to be distracted by everything that someone dangles before you as a potentially satisfactory tool.

Nothing Comes From Nothing

Last week I put out a post that was all about good things coming to those who wait. What does that mean? Do we have to do anything? Should I just sit around on FaceBook watching and waiting for someone to justify my presence? If what you put out comes back to you & good things come to those who wait and nothing comes from nothing then what the heck can I expect?

When I first started in social media, I created an account on all the various forums and then sat there wondering what to do next. At first my friends and family located me and friended/followed me and then that was about it. At some point (after observing what the other monkeys in the forest were doing) I started talking about whatever it was that I was thinking. I began speaking about what was important and then the people who cared about the same things came around to have discussions about it all. At that point I had created a following and a ranking but it was merely a presence. I had to do a lot more talking and a lot more believing and a lot more talking about what exactly it was I believed before anything monetary came of it and even that took 2-3 years. So you see, good things do come to those who wait, but there's something to be said about waiting for a response rather than waiting for a savior. We are all the savior we've been looking for - our savior exists within us and what we put out comes back. So let's discuss what you're putting out there into the social media universe.

MOST IMPORTANT - you must have & be actively working, a defined social media plan/strategy that defines your target audience, places you in the appropriate social media platform in which to reach that audience, gives you insight to the key topics that audience cares about & how they want to hear about it, and that enables you to have a timeline of what should be going out... and when.

INTERACTION - after putting your social media strategy into action the second most important thing, is your interaction with your target audience. Your inputs, comments and advice to your target audience are what is going to draw them in over time, in turn leading to increased conversations, added value and the eventual request for services.

If you're looking for a quick win - rethink why you're using social media. There's an old, but well known, saying in the urban community "don't start nothing, won't be nothing" and that saying however lacking in grammar, makes its point perfectly. Work your social media platforms with a defined strategy and good things will come.

Because I'm addicted to smiles and fun, I'll end this post with a video link to Billy Preston singing Nothing From Nothing - perhaps you remember it (if you're as old or older than I) or perhaps you can have a listen to something old but new to you, and have something to bop your head over while sitting at your computer wondering about your social media plan.

Creating A Plan... What's Your Quest?

As I covered in a prior article, the most important part of beginning your journey into the world of marketing yourself online is creating a social media specific marketing plan. Creating a plan is the easy part though, especially if you have a social media consultant or a virtual assistant to assist you, but figuring out just what your focus is may actually be the harder part.

This week someone I work with sent me a video from the TED conference that I think makes the perfect point on what your marketing focus should be as a spiritual entrepreneur so I've decided it only makes logical sense to share it with you. The man in this video (Simon Sinek - pictured to the right) tells you in 18 minutes just what it is that makes a person or company an inspiring leader to the world. This is a great video to watch before you create your social media marketing plan or if you want to tweak the one you've already got.

Here's a link to the video and below that link is a short explanation of what he covers in the video.

HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION



The video covers (not listed in order of importance):

What:
Your Products/Services

How:
What about you/your product sets you apart from everyone else out there?

Why:
What is the deepest thing that drives your soul to do what you do - What is your purpose - What drives you to share your product with the world - What is the deepest, soul-feeding reason that the entire world needs to have access to whatever it is you have to offer?

Be Inspired - Simon Sinek's website where his book is available if you're interested in knowing more after you see his video.