One of the most frequent things I speak or consult on is strategy. More specifically, how to develop a simple social media marketing strategy. Understand, there is no one size fits all for strategy and a lot of additional details go into a more elaborate plan, but if you want to get started or migrate to a simple social media strategy, this should be very helpful.
1) Coffee – Isn’t this just a given? :-) For you non-coffee drinkers or those working on your strategy in the evening, I suggest a nice glass of wine instead.
2) Targeting – I thought I would throw in an example here for you to guide you on determining your target market. For our company and I, our target market is: First World English speaking countries (geographically) and Social Media enthusiasts, agencies, strategists and brand departments. VERY specific.
3) Grow Community – Now that you know your target market, go find them on Twitter and follow them. In the real world, you wouldn’t sit in the corner at a networking event and hope your market finds you and engages you. You need to get up and engage with your prospective customers and find out about them. For more see: Social Media is a Parallel Universe
4) Content – Everything starts here! Remember, social media is not about YOU, it’s about your audience. Determine what THEY will find valuable and interesting and post that kind of content for them. For more see: How Often Should You Post On…
5) Platforms – Where does your target market most engage in the social graph? That’s where YOU need to be.
6) SMO – User patterns on the web have changed. People rarely repeatedly visit the typical website anymore. They visit, find where you have a presence in the social graph and click to connect with you there. Place your Facebook, Twitter, Etc. icons at the top of every page on your site and link them to your social media accounts. The easier you make it for them to do this, the more effective you can be at building relationships.
7) Engage – Social media is all about relationships. Share content your fans/followers post. Start conversations and deliver selfless value to your audience. For more see: The Importance Of Content In Social Media
8 ) Activity – It’s one thing to have a strategy and a plan, it’s an entirely different thing to execute it. You will need to know exactly what daily activities you need to accomplish to execute this strategy and a commitment to actually do it!
I would like to formally thank Engage and @AnyaDowning for their incredible work on the infographic. Proof of the effectiveness of social media, as that is where we met. Proof of relationship, as the resulting collaboration has been nothing but incredible!
Robert M. Caruso
@fondalo
Founder/CEO – Bundle Post
BundlePost 
LOVE it! :D So true! Cinnamon Dolce Latte, anyone? ;)
hahaha that and a side of strategy please. ;-)
So true and yet so simple!!
I have many social media accounts and all aimed at different demographics. Since I recently moved to Silicon Valley, I see the importance of having social media integrity and transparency. Meaning I need to focus my social media on a real person and not an avi of something funny. Lately, I’m creating social media with my real name and face. It’s important to be real too
Such a great blog! Thanks for the tips.
Really like your post on the importance of a social media strategy! Facebook Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, recently stressed the importance of involving social media in every aspect of a marketing strategy. She calls it “Social by Design” and I’ve written on the concept here http://venpop.com/2011/facebook-exec-says-marketing-plans-should-be-social-by-design/
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you liked the post.
Robert – Great post. I like that coffee has its rightful place at #1.
I am such an addict Dan! :-)
You and me both. If I could inject directly without pain, then I probably would. No wait – then I’d miss the taste!
Lol nice
OK, 1) I’ve got my (HUGE) cup of coffee, 2) my ideal customer is a business owner who lives in Fort Worth, Texas and wants to use original video content to develop trust with their prospects and customers. 3a) I’m off to discover what they are tweeting about…how do I do that?
you just gotta know your audience. If you were them, what would interest you when you log into social media?
I’ve been thinking about it and if I were a business owner wanting to use video to reach out and touch their clients I’d like to know what kind of video does that and how and where to post it. So I’m now doing searches from that mindset and starting to tweet content that is relevant to that person. Thanks, Robert, I think I’m beginning to see the light.
nope… Outside of what you do, what are they interested in? What you outline here is included in the 20% of what you post. The 80% should be about what interests them, that is likely not at all what you do.
Example: My audience is all about 1) Unique social media articles and info (not the stuff from Mashable, etc) 2) Coffee 3) Family –> This is 80% of what I post about. only 20% is about my blog posts, our software, etc.
Make sense?
Do you mean things like the Bible, improving relationships at home, personal development (positive mental attitude, time management) etc…? Those are things that I don’t offer directly as services in my business, but are interests of my ideal customers.
You’re getting closer, but not quite targeted enough yet. Those general topics will probably draw too many non-prospects.
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Captcha codes are those annoying things that require to you to type letters or words shown in a graphic, when submitting a form online.
Audience engagement in your stuff plays the major role is what I think!
Thanks for sharing. Nice post.