Lost with Social Media?
We all keep hearing how important it is these days to have our business promoted on Social Media, but the problem is that there are so many different social media platforms it seems easy to get lost!
Now I don’t confess to being in any way a “social media wiz” but as with every marketing strategy, the first place to start is the one that is most often ignored -research.
Firstly when you are seeking advice always ensure you talk to real experts, there are many unqualified people out there ready to help you with Social Media.
Start your research by creating a list of all the Social Media platforms and then go and find out what type of audience they each target and then match their target audience with your ideal target client.
I have found it personally effective to go and ask some of my current ideal customers which Social Media platforms they use and then ask them why and how they use them so that you can create a message that will catch their attention.
Once you understand the target audience of the Social Media platforms out there and how they work, you can make the decision on which one could work best for you.
Next, you need to plan the most effective way to position your business on that platform.
I am astounded by how many businesses these days only have one marketing message that they just repeat over and over, no matter what advertising medium they are using.
Therefore it is vital that you are tailoring your marketing message appropriately for the typical audience of each platform e.g. the type of content you share on Twitter may be very different to Facebook.
Once again, it is back to the research step.
The question you need to understand from your ideal customers is; why do your customers buy from you and not your competitors and in addition, what does your business give them that your competitors don’t?
Once you understand both why and what you really offer your ideal customers, you can match this with the research you have done on each of the Social Media platforms you are looking to use and come up with a number of messages that will really catch the eye of the people you really wish to attract.
Finally, Social Media is supposed to be just that “social” so once you have completed that initial research have fun with it. Social Media gives you access to uncountable numbers of interesting people you would never have normally had the opportunity to engage with!
By Andre Goodison, Team Results- ‘The Levels’ Certified Coach. www.team-results.co.uk.