Build Your Socials

1. Build Your Socials Hirschmattstrasse 36, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland build your socials How to Build Your Social Media Marketing Campaign With online competition at a fever pitch these days, a botched social media campaign can really set a business back. It's more important than ever to understand what kind of content your audience wants to consume and what they're willing to share. If you don't get it right, you can bet that some of your competitors will. Hiring a pricey advertising firm can provide a quick fix, but in the long run you'll want to learn the basics of building your own campaigns. This will save you time-and more importantly, money. There are a few basic mistakes that many business make, and avoiding them will put you ahead of the game. Bring the Right People Together Many managers assume that because a staff member is young, they must be hip to social media. This isn't necessarily the case. Besides, just because an intern uses Facebook, this doesn't mean that they know anything about social media marketing. If your ace advertising team doesn't know how to market in the digital age, get them trained. This will cost you upfront, but the investment will pay dividends. Social media marketing requires the following basic skills: photo editing, web prowess, and the ability to write and edit. Additionally, effective social media marketers stay in touch with their audiences across the various social networks and are able to respond to feedback, praise, and questions in real time. The most popular social media networks as of 2014 are Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, LinkedIn, and Google+. Your business should have an account on all of these sites, and you should have a dedicated team at the reigns at all times. This team should be responsible for managing long-term campaigns as well as day-to-day communication with consumers. Having someone on the team with public relations experience is a must. Make a Plan Once you've assembled your team, your next step is to map out how you will reach new followers and what materials you will create to appeal to them. You need to think tactically about this. Images are king. You can use images to convey data, to entertain, and to build brand awareness.

2. Overall, your plan should dictate your short-term objectives as well as your long-term goals. Your plan should include measurable milestones such as a certain number of new followers per network, a traffic goal, or a specific increase in conversions. You should also specify exactly how you will use the features of each social network that you're utilizing. For instance, Pinterest operates entirely differently from Twitter, and you should be aware of these differences so you know what to expect. Here's an example: most of Pinterest's users are female, so if you're selling power tools or tires, you may not want to invest heavily in this network. Google+ offers Hangouts while Twitter offers lists. You must understand these differences ahead of time and integrate them into your overall strategy. Remember: it's easy to stay focused when things are going well. When you aren't hitting your targets, however, it's tempting to jump tracks. Marketers who flit from plan to plan don't make much headway. Scheduling Finally, create and stick to a schedule. A good schedule will help with team cohesion and will keep things running smoothly. You can use Google Calendar to create and share your calendar securely between teammates. Items to keep track of include primary keywords, social networks, content formats, tracking data, and promotions.