Deciding to incorporate social media into your marketing campaign is a great idea. Not only is it a good step to take towards tapping the immense power of online social communities for the benefit of your bottom-line, but it can help enhance your brand identity as well.
Social media isn’t something to be jumped into lightly, however. Just like a solid marketing plan is needed before you can proceed, it’s a good idea to have a plan set in place for your social media endeavors. Know exactly where you want to go, how you’re going to get there, and how you’ll measure your success before you even sign up for your first profile.
Once you’ve got your plan in place, keep the following basic reminders in the back of your head as you go about optimizing your profiles.
Brand consistency is just as important in the social media world as it is everywhere else. Wherever possible, use the same logos, color schemes, and backgrounds as you do on your main website (or blog, if that’s where you’re ultimately directing traffic). While this won’t be completely possible for all social media profiles, you should be able to be consistent enough for customers to recognize your brand.
Be sure that your call to action is apparent. While it’s a good idea to avoid the hard sell in social media, it’s still vital to your bottom-line that you provide the call to action wherever appropriate.
- CC Image “Real life call to actions” by hiddedevries on Flickr
Get your followers and customers involved on your social media profiles. Start discussions, respond to comments, and do as much as you can to engage them. Social media profiles aren’t like static websites that simply function as a permanent brochure about your business. They’re fluid, growing, evolving things that need action on your part in order to be effective.
Lastly, think in terms of viral and word-of-mouth. How easy is it to spread your message? Make all your important links prominent and your elevator pitch easy to understand and remember. Then, encourage fans and followers to help spread the news about your business.
Like anything worthwhile, a strong social media campaign requires planning and nurturing in order for you to get the most out of it, so take the time to research and chart your course accordingly.
