You have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile and just signed up for Pinterest. The problem:
Nothing is happening.
When building out an integrated web marketing plan, there are key questions that help in creating a strategic plan, rather than a social media hodgepodge of busyness. Here’s Autumn’s simplified approach to real-time social media success.
The Fast Five: Key Questions for Successful Social
What am I selling?
Before you can begin engaging customers through interactive social media platforms, you need to have the basics mastered. This includes knowing what you sell and why it matters for customers. More than a product or service, you are selling an experience. So instead of pushing your product/service, show how it helps customers reach that desired experience. Think creatively about: How does it benefit your audience? What positive experience can it create?
Who am I selling to and what do I know about them?
What you sell helps determine who your audience is and isn’t. Know the difference by thinking like your audience: Where do they shop online? What topics interest them? What social media platforms do they mostly use? What brands do they enjoy? Researching these questions and anticipating how your product/service intersects with their daily life sets you on the road to engaging customers through marketing. Be where they are online or in-person and, above all, get to know them.
What makes my company unique or stand out?
Let’s say you know everything about your target audience and are well-versed about what you sell. Can you successfully communicate how your business, organization, or firm is unique, different, better than the competition in a prospect-oriented way? Tips for clarifying messages to make this fresh include: Talk about your unique values in terms of the benefits they provide your customers. Promote user-generated content that comes through Facebook testimonials, Twitter mentions, and Pinterest pinboards to reveal the uniqueness of your business, brand, and customers.
What will engage and connect with my audience on a personal/visual level?
Too many businesses build elaborate websites with streams of text that only promote their successes, services and products. No interesting images. No engaging videos. No thoughtful social media. To think like a marketer means to think like your audience. FACT: Using pictures on Facebook gets you almost a 200 percent increase in stickiness. Try this by retweeting infographics on Twitter, finding interesting audience lifestyle photos to pin on Pinterest, and sharing cool video marketing campaigns on Facebook.
What is my action plan for success?
Without a strategic web marketing plan, all of your great ideas are susceptible to remain only in idea-mode and never progress into plans and actionable steps. We help clients by creating a monthly content calendar that helps organize ideas, prioritize their importance and create a system for delivering them through the right social media platforms for successfully qualifying prospects and engaging customers.
At Autumn Consulting, we are passionate about helping you grow your business through time-tested eMarketing principles and social media marketing strategies that work. If you’re ready to start harnessing the power of social media to further engage your customers and attract qualified prospects with a Milwaukee web marketing consultant you can trust, contact us. Let’s get started making the right impact with social media and marketing for your business.
