Begin with the end in mind.
What do you hope to achieve with social media marketing? Increase traffic to your web site? That’s a given. But, what do you want people to do once they get there? Contact your company for more information? Subscribe to a free newsletter? Register for a webinar or workshop? Be specific and tailor your efforts to support those goals.
Looking for “love” in all the right places.
Each social media site and platform has a different demographic, so make sure you’re speaking to the right audience. Figure out which sites make most sense for your business based on age, lifestyle, income, interests, type of business you’re promoting, etc. MySpace has a younger audience, LinkedIn subscribers are often higher-income earners, Twitter’s user base is generally more net-savvy and Facebook a mix of everyone.
Honest to blog.
Having a blog on your site can be a great tool for boosting search engine rankings. It’s also effective at establishing you as an expert in your field and showing that you have a good handle on what’s going on in your industry and the local business community. Not all blog content has to be original writing. Share articles or web sites that your audience may find interesting and insert some comments on what you liked about those resources.
The operative word in social media is “social”.
Be prepared to engage your audience in a two-way dialogue. It’s a conversation, not a broadcast. Constantly tooting your own horn or selling aggressively will result in your audience tuning out your message or, worse, un-following you.
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