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Starting at Base Camp: 7 Strategies to Post You’re Way to the Top No matter what size or stage your business is in you know social media is a biggie in today’s world… you might also know that it can feel like an impossible task. Like anything else, there are some strategies to accomplishing the impossible. If you have a plan in place and understand what it is that you want to accomplish Mount Social Media can be conquered with ease. Whether you are jumping with excitement to get started, or a bit weary of the whole thing (like I was not long ago) social media is an important reality for any business. It can help you to increase your search rankings, brand identity and most importantly it allows your business to have a personality and voice that potential customers can start a conversation with easily. If you need some motivation, here it is: EVERYONE can be good, great, amazing at social media! But it isn’t a random thing, there is strategy involved so you’re not wasting your time and efforts. Below are seven strategies to get you on your way to the top: Strategy #1 – Develop a Goal Understand why you want to embark on social media to begin with. What is your ultimate goal? Is it to get new clients, build your brand exposure, provide customer support, or gain a loyal following? It is imperative to understand that social media is not going to get you an immediate return on your time investment. No matter what your goal is, your efforts should all be geared towards building relationships with your followers. Determine how many times a day/week you will post, and block off this time in your calendar. To start, make a commitment to post at least once a day on each of your main channels. Ideally, you will want to post more than that, but this is an achievable goal to get you started. Strategy #2 – Create a Clear Target Market Who is your ideal target market? The more clear you are on the specific persona of the new client or purchaser of your product that you would like to attract, the easier it will be to fulfill your goal outlined in Strategy #1. Avoid making social media a means to advertise – this is NOT where you want to “push” your wares on people. Social media is all about pulling people in and allowing them to get to know, like and trust you. Strategy #3 – Start Small Feeling a bit confused as to what networks to be on? Fear not. Start small and build. The best thing to do is to start with one network that you feel your ideal target market hangs out at and focus there. Build your followers and get comfortable with the one platform. Once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s time to add on another channel to continue to build your online brand presence. Strategy #4 – Slap Those Social Media Icons Everywhere Include social media icons/links to all of your marketing materials, such as your email signature, your website, your newsletter/eZine and even your business card if there’s room (But only if you can include the whole URL. It does no good to just have the Facebook icon without telling people where to find you!) Cross reference between channels as much as possible. If there is no specific field to add in your other social media channel links, add the full URLs into your description field, accompanied by a call to action such as: “Follow me on these other social media channels as well!” Strategy #5 – Be Recognizable Optimize your profile description so that it is clear and concise, and uses keywords that your ideal client would be searching for if they were wanting to connect with someone that offers solutions to their problems. Have consistent visual branding across all social media channels. The most prominent brand representation you have is your website and so let this serve as the central theme to all of the visual designs allowed in each of your social media channels. Strategy #6 – Stay Dedicated and Consistent Don’t bother getting started if you’re not prepared to stay consistent in your efforts. People will forget about you faster than you’d ever want to admit, so consistency is the key to make this work. (If this strategy is stopping you from starting at all, you might want to consider participating in a group social media membership program.) Schedule your posts to save time and ensure posting frequency. There are many tools to do this, one of them being largest – Hootsuite. Strategy #7 – Hash With a Purpose Hashtags (#) have become very popular on many social media platforms. When planning it is important to make sure they are targeted for your industry and offering. Each industry may have unique hashtags that you can study by being active and engaged in your social media community. Using targeted hashtags will allow you to make more valuable connections and reach your target market. If you think you are alone in the social media fog, you are not. I often have clients come to me feeling like they are lost when it comes to social media, not knowing where to start or what to do. I too felt this way not too long ago… but I am here to tell you that there is blue sky ahead! Mastering social media is possible and by following these seven strategies you will be soaring to the top in no time! What is your biggest social media challenge that’s preventing you from starting that “Mount Social Media” climb? Susan Friesen is the founder of eVision Media, a boutique web development and Digital Marketing firm of over 15 years that specializes in designing, building and marketing professional, unique websites for entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations. Visit www.ultimatewebsiteguide.ca and grab your FREE "Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Website's Profitability - 10 Critical Questions You Must Ask to Get Maximum Results".
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