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Why Use Social Media in Your Marketing Mix?

Social media is incredibly important in marketing today.  It serves a purpose in today’s world as a communication platform, a means of interaction between people, brands, and groups, and as a relationship builder.  While many businesses have a hard time monetizing their social media spend, 3 out of 4 Fortune 500 CMO’s believe that social media directly impacts sales.  Social media is where your customers are spending time, so as a company, you need to make sure you are being represented well.  Some businesses can’t take part in social media because of compliance issues, but for many small and medium size businesses, social media is a great vehicle.

The reasons to take part in social media are simple.

  • It’s where your customers are.
  • It’s where your competitors are on a level playing field.
  • It’s shareable and viral.
  • It’s real time, searchable, and measurable.

However, not everyone takes the right actions to ensure their social media strategy pays off.  Too often businesses focus only on the relationship or community management side of social media and forget that it can be a great tool for business development.  Here are some of my top tips on using social media to your best advantage. Over the next few days, I’ll be going over individual social media platforms, providing specific tips and best practices for each.

Top tips:

  1. Get organized and create a social media plan and calendar.
  2. Get the right person to work on your social media – whether that’s an employee or an agency.  You need an ambassador to speak for your brand, so choose wisely.
  3. Interact! Be consistent, unique, and valuable.
  4. Don’t be redundant, inconsistent, or dishonest.
  5. Choose the right platforms that work with your converting your sales channels.

All of these will apply to each of the social media platforms and will serve you well as you create a strategy that works with your online efforts.  Tomorrow’s post will be looking exclusively at Facebook.