Social Media Marketing 2.0

So you’ve hopped on the bandwagon and set up a Facebook and Twitter account for your business. Congratulations! You have officially arrived at the cocktail party that is the 21st century. But there remains plenty to do. You can’t just hide in the corner nursing your drink. You have to get out there and establish a presence, and in order to do that you’re going to need a plan. Here are five steps to creating a vibrant and engaged following on social media sites.

1.    Get a Social Media Marketing Budget
This could mean any number of things, depending on the size of your enterprise. If your company is big enough, this will mean hiring a Social Media Manager whose sole task is going to be nurturing your social media relationships. Or you could assign the job to an existing employee, mapping out exactly how much time you expect them to spend cultivating your business’s social media presence. And if you are a one-man or woman show, then you will need to carve out some time each day to devote to social media.

2.    Develop a Strategy
You definitely can’t barge right in and start selling things. In fact social media in and of itself isn’t really about selling at all. It’s about being there; listening and taking part in the conversation. But what do you say? This is where your SMM strategy comes into play. Who is your target market? What interests them? Who is your company? What defines it? These are all questions you are going to want to consider when developing the kind of voice that will A.) get your message out and B.) appeal to your target audience.

3.    Be Local
Whenever possible, engage your customers on a local level. If you have a brick and mortar business, this shouldn’t be that hard, but even if your business is only online, try to anchor yourself somewhere in physical space. If you are doing a reading, offer people a bonus for showing up and giving you the opportunity to shake their hand and put a face to their name. Real loyalty often comes from real interaction, so try to meet people in the real world whenever you can.

4.    Integrate Customer Service
Make sure that your customer service desk responds quickly to resolve any complaints that are communicated through social media, and have your Social Media Manager do regular searches for people who are discussing your company. If they have negative things to say, see if you can get to the bottom of it and do something to neutralize their dissatisfaction. And make sure your customer service desk has the proper training and is aware that in this day and age, no one can afford to treat a customer badly.

5.    Strike a Balance Between Authenticity and Message Control
While it would be foolish to jump into the fray without a strategy (see #2 above), at the same time you need to be absolutely authentic. Try to strike a balance between the voice/message/brand you are trying to promote and a style that feels natural to you or to whomever is handling your social media marketing. People on social media sites are used to dealing with other people, not other entities, so make sure your posts and tweets sound like they are coming from a human and not a robot with a degree in marketing.