There is a lot talked about social media, and the fact that it has made it easy to get you message out to a wide audience at virtually zero marginal cost. But just because its cheap and easy doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do! Lets face it, you can buy a DVD containing millions of e-mail addresses for a few dollars, and send emails to them all at very low cost, but there is a name for that kind of marketing – SPAM. As with e-mail, to use social media properly and professionally it needs to be targeted, and your output needs to offer relevance and value to your target audience. With this in mind, here are 5 hot tips for targeting your social media marketing:
- Different platforms have different, strengths & weaknesses. Use these to target our message. For example – Pinterest is a totally visual medium, so its great f your product is visual, and your content has great imagery, but if your message is predominantly in written form, maybe pinterest can be put to one side. And remember, there are hundreds of social media platforms out there, and for you MOST of them are irrelevant!
Just because a social platform exists doesn't mean you have to use it!
- Think about where you audience hangs out and focus your attentions there: The best example of this is demonstrated by the difference between LinkedIn and Facebook. Whilst LinkedIn is predominantly used by people in their professional lives, Facebook usage is primarily social, so consider this when thinking about where your target contacts hang out.
When considering your targeting - As a rule of thumb B2B: think LinkedIN - B2C: think Facebook
- When considering your targeting, don’t just think about your direct customers: Whilst your direct customers are obviously key as they are the ones who place orders & hand over their cash, don’t forget that you are not working in isolation, thus engaging with other people in your market who influence your customers decisions is also vital to a good marketing mix.
When thinking about who to target don't forget about influencers like bloggers & press
- If you aren’t sure, Experiment: Going back to my original point; the marginal cost of using Social Media is very low. Whilst this doesn’t give you a licence to not target/plan your activities, it does mean that you can experiment. If you have an idea about what might work and engage with your audience, but are not sure if it will work, then experiment and try things out.
When trying things out, before you jump in, decide how you are going to measure success and how long you are willing to commit to the experiment
- Integrate your Social Media with other marketing: Which ever media you use, and however you target your activities, remember to join it up with other activities (website, email, offline marketing etc). Very often, the real benefits of social media activity are seen through synergies with other activities.
Good Marketing is always joined-up Your social media activities are no different
