For tips on becoming a huge social media marketing success the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, you need to start off with the basics…..the fundamentals In spite of the fact that social media marketing has been a mainstay for the past decade or so, it is still an ever changing dynamic that many have been unable to tame in its entirety.
Here are 8 essential elements for your social media marketing strategy to truly be on the right track to success…..possibly to worldwide stardom.
- Identify your business goals. As with every embarkation in life, you need to know where you’re going before you’re ever going to get anywhere. Find out what you want to achieve and you’re already ahead of everyone else. Be unique !
- Set marketing objectives. Though fame and money are basically telltale signs of success, you’ll still be the judge of your own fate by looking at the objectives you’ve accomplished. Having a list or series of marketing objectives will make sure you have a step-by-step guide to success.
- Determine your target markets. Identify who your primary audience is and work on your “sales pitch” based on that information. Sales is a blending of social psychology and marketing – if you know what they want or need, you can give it to them…..with charge of course.
- Know your competitors. You’re not the only fish in the ocean ! A business must determine who are the major and minor competitors. Define who they are not so much for the sake of sabotage, but to learn from your competition. Know what they did wrong and avoid that – know what they did right and you can copy that. Information is basically what is happening with your competitors…..successes and failures. You need to learn as much as you can to ever stand a chance in the unpredictable world of cyberspace.
- Give it a personal touch. Tactics and strategies need to come from you. With all that knowledge, it won’t do you much good without being personally involved. Craft your own signature touches and let these speak for your business. Give it a name, give it a face.
- Strategize your content. Your website is only as good as the content you put in it, so make sure you don’t put in too much or too little. Strive for the right blend of information with visual appeal so as to make it memorable…..maybe even exciting. No one wants to see numbers and charts all day long – put some spice into it.
- Line up necessary finances.. Budget and financial resource allocation plays a big role in social media marketing as with any other business venture. Capital can and will be wasted without a solid plan for its use. You can get carried away with all the flashy bright lights and fancy graphics but it won’t do you much good if you don’t have a substantial product or service to back it up. Find a good financial balance between content and aesthetics.
- Designate and define proper roles of the leadership team. Establish a chain of command, assign roles and responsibilities to your personnel and make sure that everyone does their jobs. Always focus on the sum of its parts – no business can stand the test of time if not placed upon the shoulders of competent and team-playing men and women.