We get questions from our clients all the time about social media – why you need it, what it does and how to make it effective. There are thousands of different social tools, but most are very specific or unique to an industry. To avoid the specifics, the social media tools I will be talking about are twitter, facebook and a blog. I will refer to them in general as “social media” although each has its own role in the overall strategy.

As far as answering the questions…none of them have simple answers,  but there are a few ‘in generals’ that we want to share:

1. In general, social media provides an outlet for conversation between you and your potential customers. They can ask questions, share experiences and learn more about your services in a less pressure filled environment.
2. In general, social media builds stronger SEO for your website and your brand. There are more people talking about you, more pages to your site and more links to you.
3. In general, people want to talk with real people and creating social media platforms to allow them to do so will improve your customer service.
4. In general, social media will expand the number of people who know about your services and your company as well as who you are as a person.
5. In general, social media is like a conference. People know that you are there to sell something but don’t want it shoved in their face. If they want to know, they will ask.
6. In general, social media can help any business with exposure in their local market.
7. In general, social media can help any business with exposure on the global scale.
8. In general, social media can provide answers to questions, a testing ground for new ideas and a live version of a focus group for online programs in beta.
9. In general, people involved in social media are more likely to look for services or companies through recommendations from their online friends rather than real life friends.
10. In general, social media is here to stay, and businesses who start participating sooner will have the edge over companies who don’t.

While some of these will fit, others won’t. For a more detailed analysis on the point of social media for your company, contact us today!

What other generalities about social media can you share?

Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn…It’s all a bit much isn’t it? At first, it may be, but as with anything, creating a strong social media presence takes time, effort and a plan. Without a strategy behind social media, it is just a time suck that no one can afford. Done right, using these 4 tools can shape a strong marketing strategy with an even stronger ROI.

So, how do you manage them correctly? For each business, it will be slightly different, but here are 5 steps for each tool that we use in our strategy:

Twitter

1. Find 5 new people to add to our followers list every day. Also, look at the people that have followed us and determine whether or not to follow back. There are auto tools that can do this, but we find a personal approach is better in the long run for building a strong network.
2. Reply to at least 5 questions/comments with actual answers, something that adds value to the conversation.
3. Send out 5 interesting links that can benefit our community as a whole. Add my thoughts with the link so that my followers know why I am sharing. Read at least 3 links that are sent out by my followers that are pertinent to my business.
4. Spend a total of 1 hour on chit chat throughout the day to make sure to keep the connections strong
5. Tweet 5 times from my own personal/business thoughts to start conversation

Blogs

1. Write. Jot down ideas and create drafts to work on later. I strive for 3-5 posts per week.
2. Read through your current comments and respond to anyone who has made a strong point or asked a question
3. Comment on 3 other blogs that you read, with genuine thoughts, not just “good post”.
4. Stumble/Digg/Share at least 1 interesting post from another blog author
5. Look for 1 new blog to subscribe to. Remember, it is okay to subscribe to some blogs just for fun.

Facebook

1. Check if any of your friends are having birthdays. I recommend sending a tweet or email, it shows you took a little extra effort
2. Update your business page with any new information or changes
3. Respond to any new wall posts – make sure that it is a quality response.
4. Send a message to at least one connection whom deserves special notice
5. Comment on at least 5 status updates

LinkedIn

1. Comment on at least 1 status update
2. Answer at least 2 questions that are pertinent to you. Pose 1 question per week.
3. Look through recommended connections and add anyone who is interesting
4. Check on the forums in your group and respond to any inquiries
5. Update your own status.

If this list seems like a lot of work – it is. Nothing worth doing is easy, and it is definitely worth doing right. Remember, just doing it for the sake of doing it doesn’t benefit anyone. It needs to be done right, participated in correctly, and planned accordingly. It is as easy to ruin a brand in social media as it is to improve it, especially with the number of people watching. But, the work is worth it when it pays of with a strong community network that not only respects you, but can turn into prospective clients.

What strategy do you use to manage your social media – or are you still missing that piece?