Social Media is definitely a hot topic in business these days with many companies worldwide commanding a loyal tribe of eager followers. Unfortunately many business people are still stuck thinking YouTube is whimsical, Twitter is for the self-absorbed and Facebook is a place where teenagers invite gate-crashers to an impromptu party. If this sounds like you, read on. I’m going to share a new perspective with you.

How to identify your social media goals

The key to building a loyal, responsive following of people is to focus on 3 distinct groups – existing customers, new prospects and related businesses. If you’re wondering how connecting with a business might work, here’s an example. A wedding photographer may choose to follow wedding dress makers, just like they might seek to speak face to face at a business networking event so that they can join forces and offer a comprehensive service to couples needing wedding help.

Don’t let social media agencies try to bamboozle you and explain that it’s extremely complicated and highly technical. Focus on the underlying human relationships and you have most of the skills you need to succeed already.

The do’s and don’ts of social media

The golden rule of social media is to maintain two way respectful conversations with your followers. Be polite, share useful information, like hints and tips. Use it for storytelling about your business – people pay more attention to a good story than an advert.

Things go wrong when people start a profile then leave it to gather dust, or they go the other way and turn it into a relentless automated machine spouting self-congratulatory promotional information – turning their profiles into the equivalent of the crashing bore at the party. Don’t be that person!

Researching the social media market

Start with the people you know are definitely in your target market – which sites do they use? Which groups to the join? Which questions do they ask or answer? Which discussions do they participate in?

Can you find where potential followers lurk by looking at trade association listings or relevant online communities?

Once you have a following, you can start to use analytics, particularly with Facebook, to measure how loyal your following is and how much you’re interacting with them, a great way to check what you’re sharing is of interest and value to your audience.

You can also use the advertising tools to estimate the size of your target market. Facebook advertising is a good example. Try filtering people by their interests and their location, and see just how many people you could reach out to that fit the demographics you’re targeting. It doesn’t cost anything to pretend to place an advert and set up some filters to research the potential level of interest in your products and services.

Making a return on investment with social media

If someone tells you they have the perfect system for accurately measuring how your profit your campaign is, be highly skeptical.

Because social media is one of the newest ways to market a business, it’s not the only technique a business will be using. Unless the existing marketing activities stop, how can you be 100% sure a sale has come from social media alone? It’s just not feasible to measure it in complete isolation.

Winning over hearts and minds is a long-term activity and difficult to measure accurately.

What can be measured is are your efforts growing or shrinking your following, and how many people are following your calls to action – taking up special offers, visiting webpage’s, newsletter signups, brochure requests – whatever it is you want them to do.

What should be your long term social media plans?

Your following is a digital asset for your business. It needs nurturing and treating with respect to truly flourish.

Don’t micromanage it. People can become quite absorbed interacting with their community. Resist the urge to check things every five minutes.

Once you understand how the relationships work, you may consider automating certain parts of your campaigns to save your time and effort – providing you don’t make your followers feel they are talking to a robot. We’ve all been angered with computer-automated telephone systems, Press 1 for sales. Press 2 for billing. Press 9 if you don’t want to press any more buttons.

Always make sure the human touch of your social media channels remain at the forefront.

Colette Mason runs an international online consultancy which shows businesses and entrepreneurs how to use the internet and social media to boost their business online. With an IT background, which started in support and development and moving on to usability and online marketing techniques, she has worked on some of the biggest projects in Europe. She is also author of latest social media guide ‘Social Media Success in 7 Days’ available from Amazon.

Website:

www.socialmediasuccessin7days.com