10 Important Things to Remember When Planning Your Social Media Strategy.
Instagram is cool (I think). Pinterest used to be cool. Facebook is everywhere and everyone is using it. Linkedin is important for professional connections and Twitter is, well Twitter. Tik Tok is awesome and frightening.
Here are 10 important things to remember when using or planning your Social Media strategy.
Any social media.
1. You are not alone.
Everyone is confused. OK — so some of us make it look easier than others, but ANYONE who says they aren’t baffled and confused by the rapid growth and changes going on with social websites is lying (in my humble opinion!)
2. You do NOT have to use social media to be successful.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — using Social Media will not make you successful. If you’re getting leads, making money and happy with your marketing, then who’s to say you HAVE to tackle Social Media? Who knows, tomorrow the entire internet may go down — where will us social media folks be then? In all seriousness, I know that you can generate leads and marketing buzz with social media, and I know many highly successful people who have never touched the stuff.
3. The tools have changed, the principles have not.
Have you noticed that everyone has been talking about the “Law of Attraction” like it’s some kind of new and magical concept?
Well, it’s not.
It’s a principle that’s been discussed in every religious and new thought text. There is nothing new about “as you sew so shall you reap”, or the “law of attraction.”
The same goes for sales. What are we trying to do with Social Media? Sell our stuff!
No one will buy from you unless they know who you are and they like you and/or your products and services. Social Media is just a tool to spread the word about how great you and your “stuff” are.
4. Social Media only takes a couple of hours a week.
I’ve heard people say that you have to blog every day, tweet 30 times a day, and spend an hour a day on Facebook. NOPE! Blogging once a week is pretty great in my opinion!
5. You can pick one channel and make a big impact with it.
A lot of the confusion I encounter is around the task of immediately getting an account on every social media site. Stop! I help people determine one site to start with. Often it’s Facebook, but there are good reasons to start with Instagram, Pinterest, Linkedin, or Twitter. I like people to get confident using one of the sites and get their social media feet wet. The rest then comes much easier.
6. Every social media site has its own personality.
So, you think you have to have a Facebook page, learn how to tweet your peeps, figure out what the heck Instagram is and look like a million bucks on Linkedin. Really?
You don’t. Proctor and Gamble and McDonald’s have to be on every social media site every day, all day — but entrepreneurs, artists, and small businesses? Most of us would be wasting our time if we tried to tackle it all. So where to start?
Think about what kind of general “personality” each social media site tends to attract, and then pick the one that fits you and your goals.
- Linkedin: Professional, educated, driven, and likely a bit more affluent.
- Facebook: One of the gang, where the masses hang out, where people used to go to have fun and connect, it seems now it’s more about sharing opinions and slamming others. I personally find it incredibly draining now.
- Twitter: Educated, technical, gabby, and smart (except of course for those who are none of the above..)
- Pinterest: Creative, visual, crafty, artsy, smart, and organized.
- Instagram: Hipster, professional, artsy, creative, love their phone, love themselves?
- Tic Toc: Why not? I know people who have gone way out of their comfort zone to make funny videos and are attracting quite an audience for their products.
7. YOU Must Be Authentic
Be Authentic. Be Yourself. Write, create, and do videos conversationally and tell it like it is.
8. You Must be Discerning.
If you get a little twinge as post something on any social media site….. think before you click OK. If you don’t want to get into an online discussion about something controversial, DON’T POST SOMETHING EVEN SLIGHTLY CONTROVERSIAL.
And… if someone DOES comment in a manner that ruffles your feathers, DO NOT respond if you don’t want to engage with them. It seems that most people who take the time to respond in a contrarian to a post or tweet, will take the time to see if they get a response that they can then respond to. (Even typing about it is time-consuming…
For instance, say you’re going to tell people that they don’t have to use Social Media when it’s part of what you do for a living (help people use Social Media)… and a little voice in your head says “Are you sure you want to tell people they DON’T NEED social media?”
So I stop and think… This, of course, happens to me every time I put that statement in a blog. I made the decision long ago that this is part of my truth as someone who helps people plan, design, and build their websites. I’ve known plenty of people who have had very successful businesses and never embraced social media.
9. People often come online to be educated and love lists like this one.
Headlines that promise you will learn “X number” of things about a topic draw a lot of attention. If someone feels they need to know something, and they see a headline that promises they will learn it by reading 5 or 10 “things” they are way more likely to click. If you’ve read this far, I’ve proved my point.
10. If you entertain people you hooked them!
If you can make someone laugh, cry, or be inspired you’ve made a friend! Share cartoons (see the TekMiss Pinterest board filled with cartoons) (be discerning of course), share great tips, create a “how-to” video.
11. Social Media is not always fun.
Do you swim? Do you paint? Do you love makeup? Like to cook? Do you ride a bike? Do you golf? Was any of this fun to learn? No, it can be frustrating and tedious at first. Social Media can be fun if you are authentic and think creatively, and get results. It also can be really frustrating if you don’t see the results quickly. It generally takes time to build an audience that will make a difference in your bottom line.
Social Media is really incredible because it’s organic.
It’s flexible. It’s organic. You don’t know when and where you will get your best responses until you try.
Once you understand how to use the tools and get results, you begin to look forward to using them.
