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Social Media Marketing Strategies


Take a step in the right direction with these strategies:
If you’re ready to dive into the world of social media, here are some preliminary strategies to help you (and your business) blog and tweet your way to success. If you’re a newcomer to social media, we suggest you read our first article in this series, Taking the Mystery out of Social Media Marketing, to let you in on what the “buzz” is all about.

Step 1 – Explore

  • Start by browsing: Look up the more common social media sites and see how other businesses are utilizing them to network with their friends, business colleagues and customers. Learn how to navigate around sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and Yelp, to name a few. You can also visit mashable.com for general social media tips and breaking news in the social media arena.

  • Read blogs: about topics in your industry, contribute your thoughts and comments to them. View how the blog author has written their entry and how bloggers respond.

  • Set up personal social media accounts: If you don’t already have personal social media accounts, try getting your feet wet by setting up personal accounts on the most common sites like, Facebook and MySpace (and Twitter, if you have the time to invest in ongoing tweets).



Step 2 – Set Up and Get Down (to Business)

  • Set reachable goals: Before you create social media sites to promote your business, set some reasonable goals for your social media marketing efforts. Start with writing down what you’d like to happen in 6 months. Do you want to gain 100 new customers or are you a start up company and would be happy just to have people know you exist? In 6 months, measure your results, make adjustments—and then set higher goals!

  • Identify and strategize: Think about the types of people you want to reach and try to determine where they might go on the Internet to socialize and network. You can then create a list of social media sites that you’d like to participate in that would benefit your company’s marketing and business goals.

  • Evaluate and update, if necessary: You can stir up all kinds of excitement and chatter about your business, but if your potential customers land on a website that looks outdated, is not aesthetically inviting, and is difficult to navigate, they’ll leave within seconds. While you’re at it, check your branding—does your logo truly represent the quality and value of your products or services? Seek the advice of a quality integrated marketing firm (like Archer), to help you with your branding and web design and development to make sure they’re working for you, and not turning potential business away.



Step 3 – Build, Create, Connect

  • Build your team: Be sure that your internal SMM team is in place. Develop a social media policy for your organization and decide who will have the final say for all entries on various social media platforms. Will there be more than one contributor and how often will you schedule entries on these sites? Will the written tone of the entries be casual or more business like and formal? Who will act as the customer service responder when less than positive comments are made to a blog or a Facebook entry? Develop a list of topics that you’d like to address during the year and then set up a timeline.


  • Make it happen: If the Internet marketing is not your forte, now might be a good time to consult with professionals who can help you:

    • - Develop an overall social media marketing strategy

    • - Design a branded business blog

    • - Determine which SMM sites might best meet your particular business needs

    • - Monitor your blog entries

    • - Update your branding and/or website, to make sure that when your audience does connect to your site, they’re glad they came

Remember to keep in mind that social media should always be a support, not a substitution for a well developed integrated marketing plan. (Archer can help you with that, too!)

Need help developing or implementing a integrated marketing plan? Contact Archer to learn more about our high-impact, highly affordable marketing solutions, info@archercom.com, 585.461.1570.