On Wednesday, May 19th, I spoke on a panel at The New York Society of Association Executives (NYSAE) to a room of association leaders to discuss how to increase member engagement through social media. During the Q&A, I was asked a question that I hear time and time again:
How do I do it all?
The short answer is, you can’t.
With constant developments in existing social tools and the continual barrage of emerging social media platforms, it’s impossible for today’s business owner, non-profit or association to keep up, let alone integrate every tool effectively and appropriately in their existing marketing plan.
But not only is “doing it all” impossible (there are only 24 hours in a day after all!) it’s illogical, because doing it all means you’re not focusing on the key reasons we use social media tools: personal engagement and personal relationships.
Where Do You Begin? Start With a Strategy.
Social media marketing is no different than traditional marketing – the same basic rules still apply. So when developing your strategy, ask yourself these questions:
- What are my goals?
- Who is my target audience?
- What tools are they using/where are they going online?
Understanding the basics will help you identify the social media tools that are right for you and your message. And remember: do not fall victim to the latest social media buzz, define a strategy that works for your organization and stick with it.
But what if they want it all?
This is often the second question I get: “But my customers use several social media platforms to get information, so how do I please them all?”
You can’t please everyone, and you don’t want to inundate your audience with tons of information from every angle. Think about which social media tools will have the biggest impact. If you’re in the arts community, visual platforms like YouTube might be the most effective choice. If you’re a retail store, Twitter and Facebook can help disseminate information about sales, events and new products.
It’s important to remember that focusing on one or two tools will make your messages more effective and your information more meaningful – think quality over quantity.
Micro-Manage and Win.
If social media still leaves you feeling overwhelmed, there are new developments that streamline the process to help you manage your efforts more efficiently.
- Link your Twitter and your Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/twitter/
- Create Lists on Twitter to keep track of followers according to certain criteria and focus your messages to specific groups
- Put your Twitter feed on your website to maximize each message’s exposure
- Set up a few Google Alerts about your business, industry or market for content ideas to keep your message fresh and valuable
- Create a company profile on LinkedIn where designated staff can update the company profile and followers can keep up with new developments
- Use ping.fm to push your messages across multiple platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter all at the same time
- Track the reach of your message with metrics applications like Hubspot and Viral Heat to see which place you’re most influential
Social media platforms are continually integrating more and more targeting tools to narrow searchability and cut through the clutter, making it easier for you to do more by doing less.
Your number one goal in using social media is to interact and engage with your audience, create the meaningful connections and relationships that customers now want from businesses.
For more on how to maximize social media for business, visit TechTherapyToGo.com and download my new series of e-books and learn everything you need to know to make social media work for you.
Good post!
I would offer a couple of “tweaks” to it:
The closer sentence says the No. 1 goal of social media is “to interact and engage” with your audience. I would add “listen” as the first step. Social media tools are allowing us to listen to members first and engage and influence second.
The second comment is that this post seems to suggest that the goal of social media is another “push” marketing tool to “send” your messages out to your audiences. For many in the audience (whether Facebook or Twitter or whatever), unwated messages from companies and/or associations is called spam. So, first listen and engage, then you can “send” without being considered a spammer.
Finally, when thinking “How can I possibly do it all” and “what’s the ROI of Social Media” … I wonder what is the ROI of e-mail. Compared with 12-15 years ago, I sure spend a lot more of my day on e-mail. Wonder its ROI?
Steve