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Should You Employ a Social Media Marketing Consultant

New companies or small businesses are limited in many different resources. Time, employees, and most of all, funding, can all be an issue for a new company or small business. This is why social media marketing is such a powerful tool for entrepreneurs and small business owners. With a low barrier to entry and low, often no, cost, social media marketing is an attractive option to companies looking to get on their feet, establish a place for themselves in their niche and create valuable networking opportunities. However, social media marketing is a very new area of promotion and marketing. For this reason, it may be in the best interest of a small business to employ an outside social media marketing consultant in order to get the most out of their social media investments. 

That’s not to say you can’t bring this job in-house. In fact no one will speak as passionately or informatively about your business as you or your team will. Starting a new company is a hectic time, with many details to be attended to. Advertising, publicity and news release are not the least of these details, and often require the most finesse. So not only does the new business owner have to handle the publicity, but, if they have decided to get involved with social media, they must also educate themselves on the nuances and techniques of social media as well. Hiring a social media marketing expert in these situations is often a lifesaver.

A social media marketing expert can sit down with the company owners and employees, getting a good feel for the vibe and message of the company, allowing the creation of a solid image to be presented on various social media networks. A social media marketing expert can also help to develop a social media marketing strategy, using experience and proven techniques to provide the most return on investment for a struggling small business. The expertise of a social media marketing professional will not only aid in the creation of a successful social media marketing strategy, but also educate owners and employees on the pros, cons, ins and outs of the various social media networks and how to gain the most value from the networks and contacts created. While your company may not need to employ a social media marketing expert in a permanent capacity at first, consider a consultant practiced and experienced in social media marketing strategies to give your new company a great start right out of the gate – then consider transitioning the job in house to a dedicated staffing position like Community Organizer or Social Media Manager.

Social Media Marketing: Building a Community on Twitter

The most important aspect of social media marketing is building a community of interested people who will carry your message, offerings and news to their own networks on contacts. When using Twitter for social media marketing, there are several simple steps you can follow to get you started on building a loyal community of Twitter followers. This network of Twitter users has the capability to spread your brand’s reputation father than you could ever hope to do on your own.

Know What You’re Doing. Before you dive in head first, make sure you understand the basics of using Twitter. The shorthand is also important to understand. A DM is a direct message, only visible by the Twitter user to which it is sent. The “@” symbol before a Twitter user’s name is used to indicate a reply, and RT stands for “retweet,” the practice of repeating a tweet, with credit, of someone else in order to pass along the message. Making use of all of these communication methods on Twitter are important to the community building aspect of your social media marketing strategy.

Utilize Search Tools. Many Twitter tools come with search tools built in, as does the web interface of Twitter. Utilize the earch tools to find Twitter users who are discussing topics relevant to your interests and follow them. Many of these Twitter users will follow back upon seeing that you share interests. Also, if your search turns up conversations relevant to your marketing strategy, join the conversation by utilizing the “@” reply technique.

Promote Your Twitter Account.  While your social media marketing strategy calls for using Twitter to promote your brand, use other web locations to promote your Twitter account. In forums, email messages and web profiles, be sure to include a link to your Twitter page or your Twitter name. When commenting on blogs within your industry, sign your posts with “@YourTwitterName.” By placing your Twitter identity in relevant locations across the web, you will make yourself easier to find and thus grow your community of Twitter followers. A large and engaged community of Twitter followers is essential to acheiving your social media marketing goals.

Social Media Marketing on Twitter: Create a Meme

When doing research on Twitter for social media marketing, or, in fact, for any kind of internet marketing, a term you will come across often is “meme.” Memes, pronounced like “themes,” are simple, user generated concepts or repeated structures that pass quickly from one person to the next, in an almost viral fashion. When you have established a solid social media marketing plan and presence for your company, you may want to consider attempting to start a meme that relates to your products, brands or Twitter goals.

A meme has to be catchy and easy in order to encourage the maximum number of Twitter users to participate. A popular meme is #followfriday, in which users suggest other Twitter users for following every Friday, denoted with #followfriday included in the Tweet. In establishing a meme, you will have to think carefully about your brand, your social media marketing strategies, and the best way to engage your Twitter users in a meaningful and fun way that will spread quickly to other users.

The main goal of your meme, with regards to Twitter and internet marketing strategy, should be to get your hashtag or keyword to be used so often by Twitter users that it appears in the “trending topics” sidebar or gets some press on popular blogs. Also, it may be picked up by Twemes.com, a listing of hot Twitter memes, if it ends up being popular enough. Crafting a meme related to your business, brand or products will involve serious consideration and most likely many failed attempts. However, once you find something that works, your Twitter followers will do the rest, carrying it (and your marketing message) to vast numbers of Twitter users.

When thinking up a meme, come up with something quick, memorable, easy to participate in and associated with a specific date or time. #Followfriday and #musicmonday, for example, occur on their respective days. If you run a blog network, you could start a meme that includes suggesting a favorite blog every Saturday morning. Crating a meme that fits in with your Twitter marketing strategies will take some serious thinking, but if accomplished, it will easily become the most recognizable thing about your brand.

Twitter Marketing Strategy: Tips for Encouraging Conversation

Twitter marketing is unlike any other standard marketing practice in that rather than being a broadcast medium like banner ads, television commercials or radio ads, Twitter relies heavily on conversation and interaction. When you first begin a social media marketing strategy with Twitter, you may find yourself more as a participator in conversation rather than a facilitator. While that is an excellent way to get your brand and name established on Twitter, eventually you will want to encourage discussions around topics relevant to your business, product or interests in order to create organic opportunities to promote your offerings to your Twitter followers. Read on for tips and tricks for generating productive conversations on Twitter.

Ask Questions. When you have gathered a group of Twitter followers, ask them questions. The range of these questions can be huge, as the most important point is simply to encourage conversation. Take advantage of the knowledge of your Twitter followers to ask for advice or answers. Assess the needs and desires of your customers and clients by asking questions relating to your products and what your Twitter followers may like to see in future offerings, or what they like or do not like about your current offerings.

Take polls. People of all types love to have their opinions heard and considered. Open up timely decisions to the targets of your social media marketing, giving them several choices and asking for opinions on each. By indicating that you are genuinely interested in what your customer, clients and marketing targets have to say, you generate a sense of investment in the results of your specialized polls. An important aspect of social media marketing is the social part, and allowing participation in polls rewards your Twitter followers with visible results from their interaction with you.

Be interesting. Sounds like a broad instruction, but being interesting is the most essential part of social media marketing. In order to engage followers on Twitter for your marketing purposes, you need to think of Twitter much like a cocktail party. Be interesting, intriguing and offer up timely questions, statements and news stories for discussion with the Twitter community. The more discussion you can encourage, the more your profile on Twitter will rise. This is a necessary step for creating a solid social media marketing platform on Twitter.

Twitter Marketing: The Number One Rule

If you’ve started using Twitter as a marketing tool for your business, personal brand or affiliate products, you’ve likely had some successes and some failures. Twitter is loaded with marketers and the line is very clear. The line between those who “get it” and those who don’t. Those who don’t get it are likely to labor in obscurity, while those who do will find Twitter to be an extremely powerful marketing tool. But how do you make sure that you’re on the right side of the Twitter line?

It’s simple. To avoid being ostracized on Twitter, to be included as a valued and trusted part of the community, there is one rule. For every time you talk about yourself, talk about someone else. That may seem counterintuitive. After all, you’re on Twitter to talk about your brand, your products and your offerings. Why would you want to talk about your Twitter followers instead of yourself? It’s because Twitter is a conversation, not a commercial. The point of any kind of marketing is to interest potential consumers and clients, and Twitter is no different in that regard. What is different is the way interest is generated on Twitter. To get your followers interested in what you have to say and sell, you have to play by Twitter’s rules. Self-interested tweet after self-interested tweet will get you nowhere except labeled as a spammer.

By engaging with your Twitter followers and tweeting about them, for them, or answering their questions, you slip right in to the flow of Twitter. Being seen as a valuable contributor and participating in the Twitter community, you humanize and personalize your business or brand. The personal face and engagement of social media marketing is what makes it such an effective strategy, creating mini-evangelists of sorts out of your Twitter followers. By indicating that you are willing to give as well as receive, your presence on Twitter won’t be seen simply as a marketing ploy, and become all the more effective for it. Following the “one for you, one for them” rule with what you choose to broadcast on Twitter shows that your brand or company grasps the whole Twitter concept, allowing for seamless integration of Twitter into your overall social media marketing strategies.

Copyright © 2011 Jackie Cuyvers