Suitable Social Media
You want to have a social media presence for your business, but not sure which platform to use…or what is a platform?
How are you going to manage it? How much time will I be behind that computer...again??
How do I know if what I am doing, is working?
What are you going to say?
There are many reasons why we choose to go online, for anything. Generally we go on to research a new idea, the latest deal or promotion at our favourite store, dream about holidays, gift ideas...some even get online to chat to friends from all over the world.
Knowing this, and having a strategic mindset, you will come to understand that by having an online presence, you open your business up to more client channels.
What is your definition of a client?
Cli•ent (kl nt)
1. The party for which professional services are rendered, as by an attorney.
2. A customer or patron: clients of the hotel.
3. A person using the services of a social services agency.
4. One that depends on the protection of another.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
What is your definition of social media?
Social•media is an umbrella term that defines various activities integrating technology, social interaction, and construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.
This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
STOP & Breathe…
Just like any plan, your social media strategy is defined by a series of steps. Take your Marketing Strategy and integrate social media with it – this will save you some time.
In your Marketing plan your target audience has been identified (as has your brand/product/service). Apply this to your online social media strategy.
Identify social media suitability
Ask yourself, what type of information do I have right now?
1. Do you write articles?
2. Do submit product reviews?
3. Do you send out client newsletters?
4. Do you request feedback on any form of media?
5. Are any of your materials digital? Can these be stored on the internet?
All of these are pieces of information that can be used in your social media platform(s). You don’t need extra information at all! Maybe an odd quote or question would definitely not go astray (conversation starters!) – But you do need to be able to sustain and maintain your online communication. The online community will come to know your online submission trends, and watch out for your latest information. This is…online rapport building – increasing their confidence in YOU…
Start off slowly, and see what works for you – give it time to grow. Don’t expect enormous changes overnight, or within 7 days, allow at least 6 months!
Depending on your type of business, some platforms are more useful than others.
LinkedIn – for professional audiences
Facebook – Fun, viral, various age groups
Twitter – microblog
Blogger – any form of blog (such as the one you are reading)
YouTube – very useful for instructions, music/dance, health, customer feedback, “reports” – the more You Tube clips you have, the more chance you are found – as long as you always include somewhere there on your contact details (best be your website address)
My recommendation are all of these, or some of. These are the most popular social media applications that are used – and relatively easy to navigate around and use.
On a final note - upload images, links, videos and start talking to those online! Always try to think of the reader when providing information!
After a few weeks of holiday, we are back online...here is a reminder about Reputation Management for all those conducting business online.
Being aware is being prepared!
Reputation Management
The growth of business using social media is massive – the use of Internet marketing has swollen – in a fantastic way that increases online brand awareness. So who is being loyal to your business? What is your market talking about (is it you?), how is the industry comparing – state, national, global?
Growth of social networking sites enables the Internet marketer to communicate directly with their target niche audience. Despite the ease of using these readily available tools, the use of is not enough. To go one step further you need to identify what your market is saying about you/your company and others in the industry.
This basic marketing principle is another method in designing new products and services having the knowledge on the exact wants are in your market/industry.
Online tools available:
1. Google Trends: allow a user to identify real time topics and what your target niche audience searches for online.
2. Twitter Search Tool: Find out exactly what your target audience are asking. This information is like gold – to provide a new product, the designer needs to know exact needs and wants are from potential customers/consumers.
3. Reputation management tools: Conduct a Google search for reputation management – there are numerous online tools available where you can find out exactly what the market is saying about you…an example is www.marchex.com
You can also view services to compare your online reputation to that of your competitors. Some of these service vendors will provide you with recommendations on how you can increase your online persona brand.
If you are out to attract prospective customers and develop your online presence and exposure, you owe it to yourself and the financial future of your business to learn everything you can about Internet marketing.
Happy Social Networking Peeps!
Choosing social media to suit your business...
Choosing your social media strategy to suit your target audience can be simplified if you put it into different terms.
I read an article from The Art of Healing (Vol 2, Issue 27) "What does it mean really..to lose one's health". Although this article is based on the Australian Health System, Dr Mohamed Khadra stated:
"If you are dealing with a doctor who isn't communicative, who isn't able to sit down and really go through the benefits and risks of a procedure, who isn't transparent about why they are doing it and involving you in a shared decision-making capacity -- perhaps you are going to the wrong doctor,"
What do you make of this statement? I would say that in simple terms, you would not be choosing a social media platform that your target audience does not use; I would ensure that my target audience was receiving the information and 'online' comforts to keep them coming back for more. Why would your fan base 'target audience' come back to your site if they did not feel supported or getting any benefit from your posts?
When choosing your social media platform, clearly identify the who's, what's and where's. Once these have been identified you will be able to better approach your social media campaign.
Integrating social media and your marketing strategy
- Become involved in all the social media channels you are interested in, and definitely what your competitors are in.
- Ideas for you include:
- www.youtube.com
- www.facebook.com
- www.twitter.com
- www.orble.com
- www.blogger.com
- www.wordpress.org
- www.linkedin.com
- www.bebo.com
Sociallywirednow FORECAST: Our desktops (home and office) will have access to Twitter and it will over time replace the popular SMS/Text Message.
Remember: Software, technology is updated every day to improve its useability and functionality. Most social media sites run off open source software where additional programs are being developed to run within the further providing functions to advertise and increase word of mouth type of marketing activities.
To analyse the effectiveness of your social media campaign, you must first identify what it is exactly that you want to achieve in performing such an action.
Some ideas include:
- More referrals from clients using the social media platform
- More demographically dispersed fan bases
- A highly active social media space – lots of comments, tags, images, etc
• Brainstorm ideas on what you want your audience to receive; what image you want to portray; what is your niche’?
• Promotion
o What channel(s) will you use to get the word out to clients?
• Advertising
o What media channels will you use?
o Why do you want to use these channels?
o How often do you want to reach out to your clients on this channel?
o Why this mix and not some other?
• Content
o What information are you going to use to reach out to clients?
o (For example, quotes, what you are doing, what’s going on in store?)
o How are you going to record your information that is being used on each channel? (Matrix?)
o What back up will you instigate to protect data loss?
o What is your disaster recovery plan for online media?
Considerations taken from the marketing strategy:
• Have you identified low-cost methods to achieve maximum results from your promotional budget?
• What image do you currently convey, or would like in future?
• How much will you allocate on each items listed above?
o Before startup? (These numbers will go into your startup budget)
o Ongoing? (These numbers will go into your operating plan budget.)
• Pricing
o Explain your method or methods of setting prices.
For most small businesses, having a lower price is not a general rule. It decreases your chances of a healthy profit margin; clients may not care as much about price as you think; and large competitors can under price you anyway. Usually you will do better to have average prices and compete on quality and service.
o Does your pricing strategy fit with others from competitive analysis?
o Compare prices with competitors. Are they higher, lower, same? Why?
o How important is price as a competitive factor?
o Do your intended clients make their purchase decision based on price, loyalty, quality?
o What is your client service and credit policy?
Product
When selecting an appropriate social media channel, scrutinizing to obtain a solution is most definitely required – and rewarded. When identifying stakeholders ensure you consider: yourself, social media platform(s), both current and potential clients.
List all major products/and services in your funnel:
• Describe important features required. What makes it important?
• Describe all benefits and what it provides your client?
• Are your clients using this social media space?
• How easy will it be for you to maintain?
Note any differences between features and benefits.
Clients
Identify your targeted clients:
• Describe their characteristics
• Geographic locations (demographics)
The description will be completely different depending on whether you plan to sell to other businesses or directly to consumers. If you sell a consumer product, but sell it through a channel of distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, you must carefully analyse both the end consumer and the middleman businesses to which you sell.
If you have more than one client group:
• Identify all important groups in a prioritized list;
• For each client group, construct a demographic profile:
o Age;
o Gender;
o Location;
o Income level;
o Social class and occupation;
o Education;
o Other (specific to your industry), and
o Other (specific to your industry).
For business clients demographic factors may include:
• Industry (or portion of an industry);
• Location;
• Size of firm;
• Quality, technology, and price preferences;
• Other (specific to your industry), and
• Other (specific to your industry).
Competition
What products and companies are in competition with you (direct and indirect)?
• List your major competitors (names and addresses);
• Do these competitors compete across the board or only for certain products, certain clients, or certain locations?
• What social media platforms are your competitors using?
• If they are using social media platforms, are you able to gauge its success?
• Do you have indirect competitors? (For example, video rental stores compete with theaters), and
• How do your products or services compare with competition?
Use a Competitive Analysis table to compare your company with two important competitors. The first column are key competitive factors. Since these vary from one industry to another, you may want to customize the list of factors.
The column labeled Me, state what you honestly think your client would say. Even better, reach out to one, and ask? You are able to survey your clients through online surveys (check out www.surveymonkey.com)
Identify if you believe this to be a strength or weakness for your business. Often it is hard to analyze our own weaknesses. Be brutally honest here. Furthermore, ask a disinterested stranger to assess you. This task is a real eye-opener!
Analyse each major competitor, using a few short words state the comparison.
In the final column, estimate the importance of each competitive factor to the client. 1 = critical; 5 = not very important.
Factor Me Strength Weakness Competitor A Competitor B Importance to Client
Products
Price
Quality
Selection
Service
Reliability
Stability
Expertise
Company Reputation
Location
Appearance
Sales Method
Credit Policies
Advertising
Image
Analyse findings/results and write a short paragraph stating competitive advantages and disadvantages.
