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Internet Marketing

Online PR

Social Media Strategy

The public’s use of social media websites and networks has exploded in the past year. 76% of US Internet users are now active on social sites and 93% of them expect a company or organization to have an online presence.

Twitter and Facebook have become as big, and in many cases, as influential as mainstream media.

Social media has changed the way we communicate with others - while newspapers are struggling to retain readers and advertisers, one person (or company) with valuable, interesting content can reach out directly to a large group of people who have opted in to receive that content.

A few entertainment and media celebrities have well over a miillion followers on Twitter. And some bloggers - perhaps unknown outside their sphere of influence - have hundreds of thousands of readers and followers. A few brands have attracted over a million fans on Facebook.  Several companies have seen their online videos viewed by millions .

Businesses large and small are eager to try this new channel, but in many cases are not quite sure how best to use these social media sites. Trial and error is obviously not the way to go – errors in social media can be costly in terms of reputation (Dell Hell, Domino’s) and money (Kryptonite Locks.)

Before you rush in, do your homework. It’s essential to listen to the people you’d like to connect with. Find out what they need and want. Then you can prepare a social media strategy that makes sense and will deliver content they want..

 

Ten Step Social Media Stategy:

Monitor the online conversations:  It's no longer only about you. Find out what's being said about you online.

Establish your share of voice. How much conversation is there on the subject? How many people blog/comment/tweet about you?  What's the positive/negative ratio of these posts?

Set goals for the business. What issues or opportunities are revelaed by your listening? Benchmark your current position so you can measure your activities and success.

Find relevant communities and bloggers:  Who is talking about your industry, subject, product, cause or service

Identify the influencers: Who should you be taking to and why?

Develop a content strategy: What content do you have, or could you create, that meets the needs of these influencers and their readers?

Pick Your Tools: Based on what you learned in your research, and your content plan, you can intelligently pick the tools you should use.

Deliver the content: Join the conversation - syndicate, distribute, reach out, build relationships

Engage and facilitate conversations:  Participate and be a genuine member of the community.

Measure results:  Is it working?  Monitor and adapt

 

If you need help with your social media strategy call Doug for a free half-hour consultation

626 793 4911