Plan a Successful Social Media Strategy
As a Virtual Assistant, I have been using social media for quite a while now and recently have found myself disturbed by other’s ideas of how to handle it. This is the first part in a series of blog posts regarding social networking and my beliefs on proper methods of success.
Start with a Plan
A well written social media networking plan is necessary to help guide you to success with minimal effort. You will be able to see on paper, (or the computer screen), what your needs are in order to reach your goals. A great plan should include:
- Goals – why are you using social networking? To drive traffic to your website, blog, Fan Page? Increase your search engine rankings? Is your goal measurable?
- Target Market – who are you trying to reach? Potential collaborative partners, employees, customers, service providers?
- Venues – Where does your target market hang out? Are there special forums unique to these people? Do they participate in Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook? Do they read blogs or post/view photos or videos?
- Participation – How can you participate in these venues? Do you have a professional presence there already? Does it reflect your branding? Do you need to sign up for anymore outlets or subgroups?
- Scheduling – What will you do or how will you interact with others in these social networking groups? Will you check in daily, weekly, once a month? Remember, you need time to build your reputation and spread your message. List each activity on each venue and the frequency you will perform it. At a minimum, you should commit 30 minutes per day to this marketing effort.
Let’s be realistic here; you wont gain 100 new customers your first week on Twitter, nor will you land that high-rollin’ client on LinkedIn that will partner with you and pay your wage for the rest of your life. These stories are few and far between.
Hiring a Social Media Specialist or a Virtual Assistant that is trained in this area will be a great benefit to your efforts. If you prefer to learn yourself, the best training course that I have found is at the VAclassroom, by Craig Cannings. Feel free to investigate his program here.
Upcoming Series Topics:
- Implement your plan
- Interact and build relationships
- Share your knowledge
- Twitter – spread your message and drive traffic
- Tools to measure
- How long does it take to see a return on your investment/influence
- Follow the right people on Twitter
- Inspire someone in your LinkedIn network
- Become the go-to person in your field
- Gain media attention
Please note: The above list may be added to or subtracted from as I feel necessary.
I would like to hear your story of social networking. How did you learn, do you do it all yourself, are you a seasoned blogger, Twitter user, Fan Page creator? Please share your trials, tribulations, successes and failures with me and if you think my thoughts are off the mark, I’d like to hear that too!
Tags: Blog, Craig Cannings, LinkedIn, social marketing, social marketing services, social media, social media specialist, social networking, VAClassroom, Virtual Assistant
