Kathy Mason, Author, Speaker and President of Mason Works, LLC, has successful experience with high impact marketing results. She is a high energy cause-marketing expert with over twenty-five years of expertise at rolling out cutting edge technologies for business building communications, training and book or e-book publication. Her new book, Your Ultimate Social Media Plan, was recently featured on ABC News Spotlight, to help causes use social media to raise awareness and funds.
There has never been a better time in history to communicate with your audience in an affordable way. Through social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube, you can spread a message about your business or non-profit to millions of people in a very short amount of time. If you are a small business owner and you’re NOT using social media, you will seriously impair your growth.
Social media marketing is one of the most powerful tools for business owners today. It allows you to connect with your audience quickly and easily. You can engage and build a community around your business. Business owners can also use it to learn more about their audience so they can better meet their needs.
It’s enough to make you want to jump right in, right? However, before you create a profile page and start marketing on your favorite social media site, there are a few steps to take and considerations to make.
Tip Number One: Identify Your Purpose and Goals
Why are you using social media and what do you hope to accomplish? There are many different reasons to use social media. You may use it to sell products, to build your opt-in list, or to drive traffic to your landing page. Do you want to generate new leads or build relationships with your existing prospects and clients? Consider both long-term and short-term goals.
For example, if you want to build your opt-in list with social media marketing, how much do you want to achieve by the end of this month and what are your three year goals? Setting the right goals for you and your business will help you create a social media marketing strategy that’s effective and productive.
Tip Number Two: Identify Tactics to Support Your Goals
There are different tactics to consider based on your business goals. For example, if you want to drive people to your opt-in page, then you may want to hold a contest or sweepstakes that motivates people to sign up. You may want to create a content marketing strategy specifically for social media that identifies you as an authority and promotes your opt-in offer. Once you’ve identified the correct tactics, create an action plan and timeline.
Tip Number Three: Identify Your Brand Message
What message do you want to convey on your social media page(s) and how do you want to communicate it? Keep in mind that your message and brand should support your other branding efforts. However, your approach can be different on social media.
Tip Number Four: Assess Your Resources and Leverage Technology
Finally, assess your resources and leverage technology. Identify the tools and technologies that can help you achieve your social media marketing goals. For example, there are services that automatically publish a link to your blog post on all of your social media accounts. There are also plug-ins that can be added to your website or blog that help visitors connect with you on social media. Use technology to help you achieve your social media marketing goals.
For more great social media ideas, go to the Mason Works website: http://mason-works.com.