Like most things in life and in business, having a plan with goals attached to it is often the best place to start.
That applies especially to social media as there are so many different possible routes and potential outcomes that you run the risk of running round in circles if you don't have a strategy.
Decide on your desired outcome Social media can be used for lots of different things: customer support, brand awareness, marketing, etc.
You need to have a clear outcome in mind so that you can tailor your strategy accordingly.
Incidentally, that doesn't mean a bucket list of things all with "top priority" against them! You need to prioritise your outcomes, otherwise you're likely to end up going nowhere.
Research the market Set aside some time for research.
Check the social media sites that your competitors are using and check out the involvement they are getting.
This will vary from industry to industry - both the sites that are used and the degree of involvement from clients or customers - but will give you a good idea of where to aim for.
Apply the Pareto Principle The Pareto Principle - also known as the 80/20 rule - says that around 80% of your results will come from around 20% of your efforts.
The precise figures vary but it's almost always the case that the Pareto Principle applies.
You just need to figure out what the numbers are in your industry.
Doing this will allow you to get better results, quicker.
Failing to do this means that you will likely spend more time on dead ends than you should.
It should also stop sites like MySpace that are no longer effective making your shortlist.
Lurk first Lurking is something that is often spoken about when you join a forum but it applies to any other place that you network with other people.
What it means is that you should take the time to work out best practices for each of the different social media that you choose.
They each have their own etiquette and style.
If you take the time to work this out before launching in, you'll stand a much higher chance of success rather than getting mocked or ignored by your potential audience.
Build relationships Relationships are the backbone of social media.
LinkedIn takes this to a higher level - you aren't allowed to communicate with people if they're too far away from any of your connections.
But regardless of any rules of the sites, building relationships needs to be part of your strategy.
They will help strengthen your business presence and can often be used to open doors that would otherwise be closed.
Just because it's the internet doesn't mean that normal rules such as "it's who you know" don't apply because they definitely do.
Measure your results It's easy to think that just because it's Twitter or another social site, you can't measure results.
But there are various metrics that you can use to measure how well you're doing.
Simple things like followers or likes or connections are an obvious starting point.
But you also need to take account of the actual business you're getting.
Whether that's directly as a result of your social media presence or whether it's more indirect.
Set up procedures so that you know where your leads and your sales are coming from so that you can focus on those areas more than other ones - it's the Pareto Principle again!
That applies especially to social media as there are so many different possible routes and potential outcomes that you run the risk of running round in circles if you don't have a strategy.
Decide on your desired outcome Social media can be used for lots of different things: customer support, brand awareness, marketing, etc.
You need to have a clear outcome in mind so that you can tailor your strategy accordingly.
Incidentally, that doesn't mean a bucket list of things all with "top priority" against them! You need to prioritise your outcomes, otherwise you're likely to end up going nowhere.
Research the market Set aside some time for research.
Check the social media sites that your competitors are using and check out the involvement they are getting.
This will vary from industry to industry - both the sites that are used and the degree of involvement from clients or customers - but will give you a good idea of where to aim for.
Apply the Pareto Principle The Pareto Principle - also known as the 80/20 rule - says that around 80% of your results will come from around 20% of your efforts.
The precise figures vary but it's almost always the case that the Pareto Principle applies.
You just need to figure out what the numbers are in your industry.
Doing this will allow you to get better results, quicker.
Failing to do this means that you will likely spend more time on dead ends than you should.
It should also stop sites like MySpace that are no longer effective making your shortlist.
Lurk first Lurking is something that is often spoken about when you join a forum but it applies to any other place that you network with other people.
What it means is that you should take the time to work out best practices for each of the different social media that you choose.
They each have their own etiquette and style.
If you take the time to work this out before launching in, you'll stand a much higher chance of success rather than getting mocked or ignored by your potential audience.
Build relationships Relationships are the backbone of social media.
LinkedIn takes this to a higher level - you aren't allowed to communicate with people if they're too far away from any of your connections.
But regardless of any rules of the sites, building relationships needs to be part of your strategy.
They will help strengthen your business presence and can often be used to open doors that would otherwise be closed.
Just because it's the internet doesn't mean that normal rules such as "it's who you know" don't apply because they definitely do.
Measure your results It's easy to think that just because it's Twitter or another social site, you can't measure results.
But there are various metrics that you can use to measure how well you're doing.
Simple things like followers or likes or connections are an obvious starting point.
But you also need to take account of the actual business you're getting.
Whether that's directly as a result of your social media presence or whether it's more indirect.
Set up procedures so that you know where your leads and your sales are coming from so that you can focus on those areas more than other ones - it's the Pareto Principle again!
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