by Laura Rubinstein, Social Media and Relationship Marketing Strategist
Maybe you’re like I was a few short years ago and knew you had to get your business on social media, but didn’t know which network to attack first or where to go to learn how to do it right. The fact that you want your business on social media is the MOST important part of the whole process. Once you’ve made that decision, you are ready to set your business up on social media RIGHT
1-Start With RIGHT Goals
Social networking sites are all about people! Therefore, you must put people and your relationships with them first. Additionally, since social networking platforms enable entrepreneurs to access thousands of people without having to spend thousands on advertising, the playing field for marketers has been leveled. The world of marketing is finally shifting toward the principles of relationship marketing that I have always implemented successfully with clients. The first step in setting up the right goals is to make them relationship oriented.
On social media you can be very creative. You know that you don’t like to be sold in a social environment. I believe that selling/sales should NOT be one of your primary goals. Instead choose goals that build relationships and ultimately drive sales. This way your focus is not on selling. That’s super important so that you don’t come across as desperate or push
Goals that are relationship oriented include
- Growing advocates and active community members. This means you may track retweets, mentions, shares, comments and endorsements by influencers.
- Increasing newsletter subscribers by a certain amount. Then you can track conversions of subscribers to sales/raise money. Take them through a sales funnel once they are on your list.
- Driving more traffic to website. Google analytics makes setting a specific targeted percentage increase easy to track.
- Attracting a specific amount of new community members.
- Developing brand advocates to regularly mention, share and post about your content.
Remember to make your goals specific and measurable. Use percentage increases and numbers.
2-Choose the RIGHT Networks
Whether your business is coaching, speaking, or you’re a local professional, or retail book store, salon or mechanic, you need to choose the networks where your market is hanging out and engaging
Facebook is about People
Facebook is a great place to start for most businesses because it starts with your immediate circle of influence. In other words, the people you already know and as a result you will be a second or third degree separation away from millions of others. Facebook is also the number one network for forming new relationships because of the sheer numbers of people using it and the variety of ways you can connect with them. Use groups where your market hangs out and is active.
Twitter is about Popularity
On Twitter you can find out about what’s trending in real time. In essence your Twitter account is like your own news station that is interactive. This is a great network to meet the media, do market research, and provide customer service. In other words, you can elevate your influence fairly easily with Twitter.
LinkedIn is for Professionals
Everyone should have an optimized profile on LinkedIn because it is your power resume on steroids. Prospective clients/customers can read recommendations of others and you can showcase your blog and presentations with their apps right on your profile page.
Also, LinkedIn has very segmented groups that are great for connecting with your audience.
Google Plus is about Passions
People love posting about what they are passionate about. If your niche is a cause or area that you and/or others are passionate about, you’ll find your people there interested in engaging. Don’t forget that Google owns this platform and therefore can be useful for SEO purposes.
Pinterest is about Pictures
Make sure you have a visual component to your brand and content and you’ll get good SEO by using Pinterest. If you don’t yet have a website built out or intriguing pictures to post, you may want to come back to this network.
Also, the network(s) that are right for you are the ones you resonate with as well as your market resonates with. If your market is there, I highly recommend you find a way to get into it.
Here’s a great infographic posted by Mashable [https://mashable.com/2012/04/16/social-networks-tips-infographic/] that describes what each of the most popular networks are focused on.
3-Get Your Business Set Up RIGHT on the Social Networks
Once you’ve chosen your social networks, you want to make sure your brand is well represented there with the following:
- High quality photo of you
- High quality brand images
- Professional copy written for bios, about information, summaries, etc.
- The information 100% complete
Make sure you know the Do’s and Don’ts of each network and follow their Terms. We cover that in the Social Media Blast Off program (https://SocialMediaBlastOff.com).
4-Learn How To Find the RIGHT People and Build Profitable Relationships
If you are going to be on social media, you need to interact with people. There are a few groups of people to focus in on.
- Your Market Influencers (may include competitors/colleagues)
- Your ideal prospects
- The media
There are an unlimited number of ways to meet new people. You can be a newbie or even local business and meet influencers right in your community.
The Social Buzz Club (https://SocialBuzzClub.com) is great platform to meet other influencers who have large networks and are committed to collaborating and growing each other’s influence on the social networks.
5-Implement the RIGHT strategies
The very first step was setting the RIGHT goals. Given that you’ve done that and understand what’s important to your market, you then need to plan a relationship building strategy for achieving each goal.
Strategies may include the following:
□ Educate your market about your solution, cause, or area of mutual interest.
□ Entertain your market and build an affinity
□ Exchange ideas
□ Engage and respond
Getting social media done right does take some effort, but the relationships you build can become very profitable. To learn more how to do social media RIGHT for your business subscribe to my fan page https://fb.com/CoachLauraR or check out the Social Media Blast Off program for entrepreneurs.
About the Author: Laura Rubinstein, CHt is a Certified Social Media and Relationship Marketing Strategist specializing in brand visibility and profitability using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. She is the President and co-founder of the Social Buzz Club (https://socialbuzzclub.com) She regularly posts social media strategies on her blog at https://TransformToday.com and leads the https://SocialMediaBlastOff.com social media marketing business training course.
