Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Social Media Efforts

There’s a lot of talk in social media marketing about whether or not it’s worth the time and planning it takes to execute a successful strategy.

My answer: It absolutely is!

Think about it…a (very!) large number of people – from all walks of life – are using the Internet to interact with one another, and they’re discussing brands while they’re at it. It would be foolish not to take advantage of such a wide range of marketing possibilities. Any number of these possibilities could be used any number of ways to equate to sales, participation, or any other measure of conversion you can come up with.

However, there are some basic rules to follow (for lack of a better term) to ensure you get the most mileage out of your efforts. The Business2Community website lists their 3 top “keys” in an article about making social media work for you.

Another thing to consider is how you are going to manage all those profiles you’ll need to stay on top of your industry and be seen as a legitimate player within it. You want to reach out to the largest group possible and get your brand out. The best way to do that is to use a social media account aggregator, such as 8Hands or Spindex. 2 articles that cover some of these aggregators are here and here.

It takes more than setting up accounts and managing them to build a brand via the Social Web, however. You need to know where to find the Influencers and engage them proactively. You’ll need an analytics platform, such as Radian6, to find your most prolific followers. Then, you need to follow what they do, what they like, etc. and find ways to connect with them more intimately. After all, it’s your brand evangelists that make you go viral!

In addition to all that we’ve just covered, it pays to note that tracking conversations about your brand through the Social Web is an important part of learning how the public views your brand. Think of it as a PR measure for social media marketing and put it to work for you! You can do basic web searches to find these conversation, do searches on your social media platforms, and/or try a program like Tribe Monitor.

In short, the trick isn’t in using social media to build your brand…it’s in knowing how to use it!