Marketing Strategy

Social media can provide an efficient and cost-effective way to communicate with your target audience. A presence on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube makes sense. These platforms allow organizations to provide updates, start discussions with connections, and attract new followers. Take a look at these statistics:

• Twitter has more than 100 million active users
• LinkedIn has 120 million professional members
• Over 700 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each month, with 750 million active users
• YouTube is the second largest search engine and the third most-visited website in the world

Social media is most effective when you engage back and forth communication. Posts made to your social media pages should not be focused on directly “selling” your organization. Because you are in a social environment, encourage discussion and feedback among your followers. The more someone engages in discussion with your page, the more he/she will see future messages. Consider the recommendations we encourage here at Pickering:

Knowledge
Not only do you need to know what you are talking about, you need to know who you are addressing. Think of the most boring conversation you have ever encountered. Obviously you were unengaged, but why? The likely answer is the conversation centered on things that you didn’t care about… the person talking didn’t consider your likes and dislikes. Consider that same approach to social media. Social media communication is meant to be conversational and engaging. The best way to engage others is to discover why people follow you on Twitter, or join your LinkedIn group. Do you offer advice? Promotions for Facebook fans only? Do you provide entertainment throughout the day? Consider the next point, relevancy. Be relevant… and the only way to do that is by your audience.

Relevancy
You need to ask yourself two questions before posting on any social media page.

1. What is the purpose?
Your first step should be to identify the role your social media presence should play as part of your overall communication strategy. This role should complement other efforts, and not compete with your website or other communication channels.

2. Why would people want to connect with me? Or, my company?
Viewers not only expect value, but they deserve it. What can you offer your connections? Discounts, promotions, advice? Creating an account for a social media platform just because it appears to be the “in” thing to do, will not give value to your connection, nor will it make you look any more credible.

Another factor to consider is the activity you are pushing. Are you updating just to update? Are you over-updating? Great social media marketers remember a simple (and easy to follow) rule — social media is just like any other media, so apply basic marketing principles. You wouldn’t purchase billboards or TV spots without a plan, take that same approach to your Facebook page or YouTube channel. Plan before you implement… and make sure it’s consistent with your holistic marketing strategy. It’s that simple.

Brevity
You’ve seen it on your mini-feed. We’ve even done it, the never-ending update status. Just as it applies to marketing, it fits with status updates too, KISS — Keep It Short and Simple. And that is exactly what you need to remember each time you post.

Research has shown that visitors are most engaged by posts that contain 80 characters or less. Twitter maxes out at 140 and sometimes that doesn’t seem like enough! Obviously you can write more, but just don’t make a habit of it.

Pickering has developed social media strategies and advertising campaigns for a variety of organizations including medical, retail, and non-profit sectors. If you would like more information, we would be happy to discuss this in greater detail with you. Please click here to contact us, or call the Lincoln office at 402.423.5447 or the Lynchburg office at 434.485.8915.