Social

Making Social Matter

By Kylie Jane Wakefield

Too often, companies are eager to jump on any trend that might lead to sales, including social media marketing.

The problem is too many efforts are unfocused and campaigns end up being useless.

Marketers can get most out of their social media efforts by setting goals, figuring out how to measure success, starting a conversation, and integrating social elements into other campaigns, writes Business 2 Community‘s Jon Yoffie.

It’s a mistake for marketers to just create social media accounts and think it will immediately lead to positive results.

Campaigns need purpose, and “to be designed starting with the goal and working backwards,” says Yoffie. Knowing what exactly to measure from the start will guide campaigns, whether it’s revenue, customer satisfaction, or sales leads.

Social media can not replace traditional marketing efforts like newsletters, television advertising, press releases, or websites. Yoffie says that social media “should be designed to enhance your current efforts, not replace them” and to “promote your web site content, drive links to your landing pages, show off your press efforts, and generally highlight the marketing efforts you’d be doing anyway.”

Selling too much on social media also isn’t wise, and Yoffie says it should only be done 20% of the time. Instead, businesses need to provide useful information and get a dialogue going with the customer.

Before signing up for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any other social media site, marketers need ask why they need to use the sites and decide the best strategies to accomplish their goals.

Image courtesy of geishaboy500/flickr