Social Media Planning

Social media planning is very important - here's how you can plan your next exciting marketing campaign.

So many Internet Marketing firms are scrambling to offer social media marketing as part of their marketing campaigns. And who can blame them? It seems that social media programs like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter have taken over!

But before you plunk down your hard earned cash (and getting harder every day it seems) make sure to create a marketing plan for your social media campaign. Lewis Green wrote a great article discussing this very topic.

He outlines 6 questions that you should be able to answer BEFORE you enact any social media programs into your internet marketing campaign.

1) Who are your ideal customers? The ones who deliver the most value? What do they look like? What do they want and need?
2) Where do those customers live online and how do we reach them, engage them in conversation?
3) What should be the focus of a blog (or a social networking presence)? What content will be of interest to those readers who make up our ideal customers?
4) How do we ensure that social media is seamlessly integrated with our other marketing tools?
5) How do we drive those readers to our blog and then to our web site, using the blog as a way to interest them in our expertise because of the great content (conversation starters) we create on the blog?
6) How do we create content that is not viewed as simply a marketing and sales vehicle?


The answers to these questions will tell you...

1) What social media programs to join. If your ideal customers are business people, LinkedIn is a great social media program to join. But if your ideal customers are musicians, then MySpace is a better social media program to join.

2) You can find out where your customers "live" online simply by asking them or adding a "link to me" button on your own website(s).

3) 90% of the reason people come to the Internet initially is for information. Be the source of that information and you will increase your sales. So make your blog and online articles a part of your social media program.

4) So often, programs are begun but not maintained. If you're going to open a Facebook account or LinkedIn account, don't just open them and walk away. That's like spending $400.00 to join the Chamber of Commerce and then never going to the meetings.

5) Driving visitors to your blog and social media content is not that difficult. Add links to these in your email signature, in your website, in your printed material, etc.

6) Create content that answers questions your audience is asking. Do you sell name tags? Your audience are more than likely business owners and business employees. Supply information in your blog answering questions like "How To Get Through An Interview" - "How To Ask For A Raise" - etc. These are relevant to your audience.

Mr. Lewis finishes his excellent article with a great formula...

"X, with X being integrated planning, = Y, with Y being ROI. And in today’s lean times, those who fail to deliver Y will soon be victims of budget cuts. And without an objective, goals, strategies to meet those goals, and tactics (tools) to achieve the strategies, we shall perish, no matter the tools we use."

The bottom line of ANY marketing campaign is the ROI (Return On Investment) - bring in traffic which then converts into sales. If the campaign does not do this, something went wrong. Plan ahead and the chances of getting a great ROI are much, much better! Social media planning is worth the time and effort.