Social media is a very powerful way to connect with customers and prospects, but without a plan it can also easily turn into a tremendous time drain.

A successful social media marketing strategy will clearly define your objectives and save time and effort.  It can also have a positive impact on your ROI. According to a recent report from R2integrated, companies that profited or saw increased revenue from social media marketing were almost twice as likely to have a formal social media strategy.

Here are some tips for creating a successful social media marketing plan: 

• Set specific goals.  Define your target audience and your objectives in marketing to them, such as building brand awareness, improving customer service and retention, and driving traffic to your website.
• Do your homework.  Determine where your audience spends its time online and the best methods for reaching them.  Look at what's working for your competition and research the best practices of other successful social marketers.
• Set a schedule.  Create a calendar of when, where, and what your company's social media activities will be.  Consider sharing how-to info, product demonstrations, facility tours, case studies, exclusive promotions, and contests for gift packs of logo'd merchandise such as t-shirts, travel mugs and laptop sleeves. 
• Go public.  Plan how you will promote your efforts.  One company, for example, gave out sunglasses at a tradeshow and encouraged recipients to post photos of themselves wearing the glasses on Facebook and Twitter.  The most creative entry won a limited-edition hat.  Other companies distribute attention-grabbing t-shirts and stickers with their Twitter handles.  
• Determine how you will track results.  It's important to monitor and analyze your efforts, but keep in mind that it can take a year or more to see measurable results.      
• Finally, stay flexible.  Your plan will help keep you focused, but it's also important to assess new tools that may come along and change tactics if something isn't working.  
  
  We can give you some great ideas for promoting your social media marketing.  Contact us to learn more!