Courtesy SXC -Is you business ready to dive into social media?
Welcome to the first article in my series about business being primed for social media !
This post can be used for not just determining social media marketing issues, but the growing array of Internet Marketing tools available. There are presently six to eight name variations found around Internet marketing technologies. Please ponder the above when reading this article. The social media is a category of Internet Marketing technologies. Also, the social media could be a category in digital marketing or Search Engine Optimization. One can see the dilemma…
Business, both US and international, are facing ever evolving choices in Internet marketing technologies. Your social media channel choice will be reflective of your customers, the company’s marketing background and mix, the company’s needs and goals, and their brand journalism options.
4 Factors for Businesses to ponder before using social media and other Internet marketing technologies:
-TIME: Like most marketing endeavors, social media marketing and engagements will take time to develop and be successful. It will take time for your business personnel to learn and engage with online customers and prospects. Social media campaigns are not an overnight sensation. Like plants, they need time to grow, then pruned to meet your business needs AND the needs of your customers. Overtime, the visibility and ROI you are seeking will appear.
-PREPARATION: Conversing and sharing within the social media venues requires preparation in planning, creating content, sharing your content, and changes in business operations. In your preparation, your business will need to create goals, assign personnel to social media operations, review organizational structure, determine program responsibility, determine e-marketing channels , and legal/policy issues. Also, remember to prepare for when the bad times hit: product detractors, product recalls, negative press about your company.
-EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY: Social media, social networking, mobile, and other digitial marketing technologies are evolving very fast. Do not dive into any of these technologies with out examining each one. Each type of technology offers unique ways to reach clients, prospects, or the general public. Do some research over the type of Internet marketing technologies your business deploys. Also, your technological infrastructure within your company will have to be updated to meet the bandwidth and storage needs of certain types of social media marketing tools. Some storage can be done in the “Cloud” but at the end of the day you want your customers to go to your website and interact on your website.
-PERSONNEL: The skill sets of your personnel vary. Some personnel will take to social media technology and activities very fast. Others will not. Social media learning is not an age based issue. Successful social media acumen and usage is intuitively based. Also, most of your employees don’t talk to the general public or clients. These employees will need to be trained in what to say and not what to say in on-line digital marketing venues. A larger number of your employees will be talking to clients, prospects, media, contractors, and fellow employees in real-time.
The above four factors should be considered before starting your social media marketing and other Internet marketing programs. After reading, print this post out, wait a week and think about the factors, and re-read this posting.
Then, begin to plan your social media marketing activities for your organization.
Going to the Tucson Festival of Books on Saturday, March 12th? At 2:30 PM at the IABC Tucson booth (#103), Will Dobbs will be holding a discussion on Priming Your Business for Social Media. Do attend!
