3 Tips on How to Use Social Media Marketing Throughout Your Business
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Many times I hear people talking about using social marketing for their business; but when I ask them why they are using it and what results they are expecting I get that “deer in headlights” look. What went through your mind when you read the question?
When you “jump right in” to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc without knowing where you are going, you will end up nowhere. It is very important to have a strategy and a plan that you can measure so that you can determine whether or not all of your efforts are paying off. AND you do want your social media efforts to pay off in more clients and customers, right?
If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. Jim Rohn
The same concept applies to your social media marketing. Here are 3 tips to incorporate social media into all aspects of your business.
Integration is critical or you will burn yourself out. When you create content do not use it for just one purpose, use it on different sites. YouTube has an option where you can post what you do over on your Facebook wall. Take advantage of that option. Check out the programs that you use, look for the option of sharing it is on many sites.
Incorporate social media into everything that you do. When you are out and about speaking with people ask if they are on Twitter, or suggest following each other or becoming friends on Facebook. Have your social media links in your auto signature on your email. Be sure to include them when you go to forums. Make sure that people know how to find you. I have a associate who has made t-shirts asking “Do You Follow Me on Twitter?” Get creative. Do what works well for your niche.
Plan your projects and content – Sit down in advance and think about the results you want. What social media platform will give you those results? What do you need to be saying and how are you saying it? When you have a plan it is much easier to keep your focus. You will be able to accomplish things much more easily. You need to get your strategy house in order. This can be as simple as planning out your next series of articles or posts. I had a client ask a question about mastermind groups, as a result I planned a little campaign around that very topic.
Social media is great and planning why you are using it is most important…otherwise you are just making friends.
Thanks for sharing,
rebecca
Hello Carla
You are absolutely right, you need to plan and measure your social activities if you are doing it for business. It is not enough to have thousands of online friends but rather how many of them are customers or partners.
Good stuff.
It is definitely impossible to get where you are going if you don’t know how you are going to get there or where you are going. Great tips Carla!
Wendy
Carla, Great reminder to step back, take stock, and make a plan. It doesn’t have to be a 5 year or long term plan. The plan can just be a goal of setting up a few new blog posts around a specific topic for a specific purpose, perhaps an upcoming teleseminar.
Some great tips here Carla as it can be very easy to just jump in to social media with no real plan and spend hours getting lost in all the activity. Definitely need a plan and integrate as much as possible.
Many thanks for sharing these tips.
Belinda
Hey Carla! Yes, social media can definitely be a black hole if you don’t get a handle on it and set yourself a definite plan of action! Just with TSA you have to carve out a certain amount of time every day to do just a little then you don’t feel like one whole day is used up. Thanks for all your great tips. I’ve passed the post on!
Carla,
Tip #3 on making a plan is definitely important! As others have already pointed out, it is easy to do alot of social networking without seeing any business results. Having a plan for daily marketing activities is a better way to be sure we’re going to get the results we’re seeking.
Great post….great reminder!
Best,
Robin
Carla, Great tips here! I really like the one about adding your social links into the autosignature of my e-mail. You provided some real useful information here, so thank you for that! ~ Joseph McDevitt
Too right Carla! Too many people tell you to get on Facebook, or open a Twitter account, but without any real training on what to do on these platforms, they will quickly get nowhere!
I was a little guilty of this at the beginning, but I soon realised that you really have to have a plan or very soon a couple of hours will have elapsed and you will have done nothing, lol
Great post Carla!
Sue
Great tips, so many people forget to do the simple things like ask to connect or trade facebook accounts. I see so many emails with no signature at all. That is prime real estate. By not using that space to advertise yourself you are mission out on so much free exposure.
I have 3 different signatures I use for various purposes, depending on who I am communicating with and what the communication is about will determine which signature I use.
Carla,
Very good and relevant post you have created here. If you don’t know your objective for using social media and plan how to accomplish that objective, you will just flounder around and waste valuable time. You made that very clear in your post! Social media can be very effective if used with a well-planned strategy. Thanks for reminding us.
The quote you picked from Jim Rohn was very fitting to your subject and reminded us again how much we have learned from Jim Rohn. Thanks for paying well-deserved tribute to him.
Dave and Dawn
Love this. I am so prone to new ideas every day, it is hard to stay focused. A plan is essential. I recently made two videos about my niche mistakes and funnel mistakes. This fits right in. Indeed, if social media is your marketing focus, we could even ask – why? Was that a result of looking at your niche and developing an overall strategy for that niche, or just because you thought you should “jump right in” as you mention. Thanks for reminding that social media should no more be a random thing than any other type of marketing.
Thanks! Jim Rohn is one of my favorites, simple and to the point. Does not waste words
Thanks Rob Remember to use the real estate on the back of your business card. It is a great place to offer your “ethical bribe”!
Glad you liked it Joseph, there are tons more over on http://www.ArticlesByCarla.com Enjoy!
Agreed!
Always a pleasure Belinda!
Sooo True Rebecca. Making friends is fun, but it does not pay the mortgage. Having a plan really helps bring you back to focus.
Thanks Peter, I appreciate you taking the time to read the post!
Wendy, you are a champion!
Thanks Wendy! I went over to your blog to check it out. Could not leave a comment as it told me 3 times my comment was spammy.
My Pleasure Sue, I too was one of those who started out with no plan and just jumped in! Good thing we both learn from our mistakes!
Thanks very much Debbie, I appreciate the pass!
Hi Carla,
It is easy to get overwhelmed and lose track of the goal…connecting with people. I like your idea of integration of content for the different platforms. I am just now getting how to do that.
Nice to meet you!
Carolyn from TSA
Hi Carla, this is great advice. Having a plan is not only a great idea, it is necessary. If you use social media without a notion of why or how, you are going to be hard pressed to continue to use these platforms. Even if you are persistent, what are you going to get out of it. Hard to tell, if you don’t know why you are doing what you are doing….
Carla:
I so agree with you. You need to have an overall strategy for your business as well as a social media strategy. Both of these should tie in closely with your purpose. If these things are not in place, you are like a ship at sea without a rudder. You never know where you’ll end up.
Thanks for a great article and the reminder. We can all use a nudge now and then.
Live with passion and purpose,
Vanessa
Thanks for the tips!
It is important to keep it simple and concentrate on what works. I find it useful to write down your tasks then cross them off as you go, simple yet effective in achieving goals and keeping track on your progress.
Great idea about the t-shirt!
I think it’s always useful hearing what others use social media for. I’ve found it hugely useful in business and made many contacts that, ordinarily, I would never have had the chance of communicating with. This is a great reminder to explore and enquire and use all these great free tools to help promote and expand our businesses.
Hi Carla, these are some great tips on getting more traffic. I like the advice on including them in your forums. Great Idea! Hope your week is the best!
Oh, and congrats on your award this week Carla!
Carla,
Love the tips. Thanks so much for the info. You are so right… we need to know what tools we are using and why… otherwise we are just floating along hoping for the best.
Thanks for working so hard last week and visiting all those blogs!
~ Pat and Lorna
http://TheCoolestCouple.com
Great tips. Number 3 is the hardest. If you are still learning, you do not understand the potential of the tools in order to plan as efficiently as one might. Think Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principal. But I am working on it!
as an experienced marketer but very inexperienced on social media, I find your blog hugely helpful. I am just about getting the hang of social media but light years behind you Carla. Great blog, outstanding advice. Will be back again for sure
Carla, you are so right! I find many people think that social media just “happens” by setting up an account! They forget all about the “social” part! Nothing happens by accident. You have to plan to win… and implement the plan!
Thank you so much for sharing true tips and giving such great value!
Deborah
Carla,
Makes sense what you are saying. Having a strategy is critical. And repurposing is really the most efficient use of time. I’m starting to do more of that, right now creating a videoseries of my ebook to get a little more bang for my buck.
Thanks so much,
Adam
Hi Carla,
I couldn’t agree with you more. If you take the time up front to create a strategy and do some planning, it will save so much more time in the long run. Thanks! ~ Linnea
Hi Carla,
Excellent advice. And I would add that tracking your progress is very important. If you can see when something is working, it’s much more motivating to continue. And, if you see something is not working, you know to change your approach.
Of course, as you said, having a plan is of the utmost importance, as is knowing your target market.
Love the t-shirt idea. Is your associate selling them?
Thanks for your tip on integrating YouTube with your Facebook profile. I just set that up.
Using google analytics is also a powerful tool. You can track how many visitors land on specific pages, where they are coming from and a whole slew of other great information that you can use to target your market.
Excellent info Carla and I look forward to your next post.
Hi Carla,
great information in your article. Love the Jim Rohn quote.
Being creative and unique can go a long way,
Planning would be important when you have a busy life especially.
Thanks for the post
Caryn
Hey Clara,
Excellent post. Too many people jump into things without knowing why they are doing it or where they are going. I love the Jim Rohn quote too! Here is one of my favorites: Failing to plan is a plan to fail. Thanks for sharing this with us all.
Make it a great day!
God Bless,
-ed