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Why having a social media strategy is a must
Thrilled is a word that best describes how I felt last week when asked to spearhead the Twitter and Facebook accounts for one of our clients. I’ve always been a big advocate of this company joining Twitter so you can imagine my enthusiasm when I learned that I’d be the force driving their brand on these social networks. While I was anxious to get rolling, I’ve been fortunate enough to listen in on a few interviews with Crosby Noricks, a phenomenal Social Media Strategist at Red Door Interactive, and know that it’s imperative to map out a strategy before moving forward. Lunging into social media without a game plan is not recommended and I’ve provided some suggestions to consider before starting an account as well as areas to concentrate on during the first 30 days.
1) Develop a content schedule
Create a content schedule to ensure you’re consistently interacting. For example, on Monday’s educate your followers on some aspect in your industry such as a “tip of the day.” Regardless of the content planned for each day of the week, it’s imperative to engage with your audience on a daily basis.
2) Locate your customers/clients
Ask your client to provide a list of their customers and search the social networks for these folks. This can be an extremely time consuming task, but it’s worthwhile if it leads to a connection with your stakeholders. From there, the conversations can begin; this is a great opportunity to follow-up on past purchases and can potentially lead to future business by displaying exceptional customer service.
3) Engage in all types of conversation
Don’t limit your conversations strictly to your industry. Engage in communication with all sorts because you never know who your next client will be. For example, if your company is in the construction business, don’t let that keep you from interacting with people in the restaurant industry. Perhaps one day they’ll be looking for a remodel and people typically buy from those they like and trust.
4) Download a social media management tool
So you’ve started connecting and engaging in conversation, but managing conversations is equally important. Download a social media management application such as TweetDeck and set up searches for not only your client’s company name, but for keywords related to their brand. You’ll be able to filter noise and manage different conversations simultaneously, which will ultimately make your job easier.
As you can see, there is a lot of planning and strategizing that needs to take place. Make sure you’re prepared and ready to engage in conversation and dedicate time each day to monitor the account, preferably in the morning and afternoon, to ensure you don’t miss anything. Neglecting an account could reflect poorly not only on the company, but on your reputation.
1) Develop a content schedule
Create a content schedule to ensure you’re consistently interacting. For example, on Monday’s educate your followers on some aspect in your industry such as a “tip of the day.” Regardless of the content planned for each day of the week, it’s imperative to engage with your audience on a daily basis.
2) Locate your customers/clients
Ask your client to provide a list of their customers and search the social networks for these folks. This can be an extremely time consuming task, but it’s worthwhile if it leads to a connection with your stakeholders. From there, the conversations can begin; this is a great opportunity to follow-up on past purchases and can potentially lead to future business by displaying exceptional customer service.
3) Engage in all types of conversation
Don’t limit your conversations strictly to your industry. Engage in communication with all sorts because you never know who your next client will be. For example, if your company is in the construction business, don’t let that keep you from interacting with people in the restaurant industry. Perhaps one day they’ll be looking for a remodel and people typically buy from those they like and trust.
4) Download a social media management tool
So you’ve started connecting and engaging in conversation, but managing conversations is equally important. Download a social media management application such as TweetDeck and set up searches for not only your client’s company name, but for keywords related to their brand. You’ll be able to filter noise and manage different conversations simultaneously, which will ultimately make your job easier.
As you can see, there is a lot of planning and strategizing that needs to take place. Make sure you’re prepared and ready to engage in conversation and dedicate time each day to monitor the account, preferably in the morning and afternoon, to ensure you don’t miss anything. Neglecting an account could reflect poorly not only on the company, but on your reputation.
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