Social Media Strategy in 8 steps

Hi!

I found this great social media strategy in 8 steps article in Convince and Convert. You can read it yourself HERE. But I will go trough it briefly step by step, so you get the idea.

(http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/social-media-strategy-in-8-steps/)

1. Build an ark - everyone in the company should involve in social media, it should be everywhere.

2. Listen and compare - listen to your customers and competitors, they will lead you in the right direction when it comes to social media marketing

3. What's the point? - What do you specifically wan't to use social media for? Awareness? Sales?

4. Success metrics - how get likes and engagement? Think of the tools how to measure those things.

5. Analyze audience - always know your target customer, think of the demographic and psychographic characteristics.

6. What's your one thing? - How can you impact your customers heart instead of the head?

7. Engagement & humanization - act like a person, not a entity.

8. Channel plan - how and where? This is something you should consider after knowing the answers to the previous ones.

Personally I think the most important steps of these are to getting to know your target group and how to engage them. There is no point in doing social media marketing, if you don't know who you are trying to convince. Companies must know what their customers wan't to read and more importantly where  to reach them. Step 2 helps with this, let the customers tell you what they really wan't. Listen to them and compare your own needs with competitors.

In the article there was a really good allegory for step 6. "Disney isn't about movies, it's about magic." I liked that phrase so much, and actually every company should think of something similar suiting their vision the most.

Social media provides lots of opportunities, we just need to know how to benefit it. The best way is just to start exploring!

(http://4b9cae461ny22p1bzoeb3tg1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/MG-soc-media-strategy.jpg)

Content strategy and process

Content strategy and process

I found this website https://vimeo.com/136770404 where is a video lesson from webinar and webinar material is about How to Create a Social Media Content Strategy Your Board, Execs AND Audience Love. This video is made by Filene Research Institute and the lecturer talks about North-American markets.. Unfortunately this video doesn´t exist on YouTube.

A solid content strategy that integrates multiple channels, capitalizes on the interactive nature of social media, and aligns with overall corporate objectives is the most important key to success, according to our research findings.

This webinar will give you essential elements for building a solid content strategy that meets the goals of your board and executive teams, while delivering value to your audience.

This video lesson tells about business goals and content focus, corporal laws, how to prioritize the content and understand the channels. Video tells also about budgeting and all the process about getting business alive.

This next photo is taken from the webinar material. It shows you what you have to do properly to get your business working success.

This next photo is taken also from webinar material. The lecturer thinks that its very important to know your tools so that you get your marketing target strategy alive.

I think this webinar and the material is really good and educational. The lecturer knows what she´s talking about. 

7 Content Strategy Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Content marketing is a strong tool for brand marketing, and looking at the brands that are succeeding at it one might think "how hard can it be?". Here are some content strategy mistakes to avoid when getting into content marketing.

1. Trying to go full speed from the start

Creating content takes time and effort. Trying to go big in the very beginning without the necessary resources will only overwhelm you. Instead of going pedal to the metal start slow, examine the content and feedback, learn from mistakes and tweak your approach based on what you've learned.

2. No workflow

 A big mistake is to think that the work is done when the content is ready. Sure the hard part might be over but what next? Who is going to review the content so that it is on point with the brand image? Who decides on which platforms the content is published? Make sure you establish a workflow before creating content so that you know what to publish, when, and on which platforms.

3. Underestimating the amout of work

Creating quality content takes a lot of work. Neglecting this fact and trying to produce content by yourself can result in some costly failures. So make sure you have a professional team around you to whom you can distribute the workload, or if possible consider hiring an expert to create the content.

4. Underestimating the competition

Generally companies compete with other companies from the same market sector, but when it comes to content marketing you are not just competing with that other brand for customers, you are competing with established content creators.

5. Lack of goals

1. Publish content
2. ?
3. Profit!

A crucial mistake is to think that just by publishing something somewhere will result in worldwide publicity and loads of new customers. Before creating and publishing content, it is important to identify the goals and then measure the performance in relation to those goals.

6. Forgetting distribution

Many brands are lacking in distributing their content. They think that promoting their content in social media is all it takes to spread their stories. Strategic distribution of content is what will set businesses apart in content marketing. Optimizing for search engines and mobile, promoting in branded publications, and using influencers from the field are few ways of making sure the content reaches the target market.

7. Mentioning the brand name at every possible turn

This is a sure way to drive away those few loyal followers that you have managed to obtain. If you want your brand to be seen as a trusted source of information, expertise, or entertainment be sure to create meaningful, genuine, and engaging content. Don't fill the content with brand mentions and sales pitches otherwise it will only feel like you are desperately trying to sell your product.

Source

Lead nurturing and content marketing

What is lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is the process of building effective relationships with potential customers throughout the buying process. It’s purpose is to create automated and ongoing communication with your potential customer throughout the sales cycle, maximizing results and revenue for your company.

Because of technology like marketing automation, modern day lead nurturing is personalized, adaptive, and can listen and react to buyer behavior in real-time. Modern lead nurturing enables you to listen and respond to buyers on multiple channels.

Nurturing leads with content marketing

If lead nurturing is the backbone of a successful online marketing strategy, then content marketing is the muscle. In a market where customers are increasingly wary of ads and increasing self-educating through the funnel, content marketing has stepped up to the place to give brands a voice

Content marketing is the process of creating relevant and valuable content, from blog posts to infographics to video, which attracts, engages, and serves your audience. Customers are already scouring the web for answers to their questions and solutions for their problems that brands are uniquely positioned to provide. Content marketing welcomes them at every stage of the buyer’s journey, and helps move them through the funnel.

The buyers new funnel

How marketing automation helps nurture leads

Marketing automation is a technology solution that allows brands to automate their marketing efforts across various channels, to improve efficiency and drive more sales.

Automating a workflow helps align all of your marketing efforts and messages, and makes sure that each lead receives the most relevant messages at the most opportune times.

How marketing automation works

Source: http://www.marketo.com/lead-nurturing/

Aim to high quality in your content strategy

Content marketing, as Ville Tolvanen said in one of the chapter 2.1 video, is much more long-term oriented or even eternal while traditional marketing campaigns are on display only some period at a time and then they are over. If the content is well made, consumers might find it again after a while it was posted the first time and repost it and then the company will get more visibility. That is one reason why the content should be well-planned, executed and high quality.

Other reason is of course that no one is interested in the content that is poorly made and have nothing to give to the consumers. It is important to know the audience and understand them, solve their problem and in that way give them value. We all know that we can’t consume everything, watch every video, read every blog post etc. so we decide what content is the most interesting, helpful and relevant to us, and that is what we utilize.

Because there is more and more content everywhere these days, there is quite a lot of poor content as well. It is important to really focus on the quality of the content. Content marketing agency Velocity tells in their presentation in SlideShare why the biggest threat to content marketing is content marketing and how to survive the content deluge with building a Great Content Brand: http://www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/crap-the-content-marketing-deluge

Click the picture to see it bigger

Like Velocity states the bottom line is:

“The Content Deluge is approaching.
Raise your game, build a great content brand or prepare to get soaked.”

How to Market on Instagram?

We have learned a lot about Content Strategy and process on our chapter 2. I would like to write about Instagram that happens to be my own favourite Social Media platform. Today I concentrate on how to create content process for Instagram.


First step has happened when you have done the target group analysis and chosen the right social media platform(s) for your company. In this case, you have chosen Instagram. I remember when I joined Instagram I was so lost for couple of weeks that I almost gave up on it. It is not definitely the easiest social media to use as a newbie. No wonder why many companies need to hire a special Social Media Consultant to run their marketing on social media platforms...

Second step comes in when you need to start creating and actually processing content marketing on social media. It can be extremely hard especially if you are not familiar with Instagram. Gaining followers on Instagram is not the easiest job to do if you don't know the right ways. Your company/brand can be found easily if you pay a lot of attention on perfect content processing on Instagram .


I found a great introduction video that goes straight to Instagram's world. It gives you 52 tips how to make the most out of marketing on your Instagram account.

If you want to read the whole blog post of "52 Tips: How to Market on Instagram?" click here!

More readers for content

1) Distribution
As we learned from course materials, content needs to be engaging. Good content gets under our skin, all the way to the emotions.
But it doesn't matter how good our content is, if it's not easy to find.
Distribution is about optimizing for search and mobile. 
Since Internet is full of information and webpages, easiest way to find something is Search. If I can't find it with Google- it doesn't exist to me.
Also what drives me crazy are the pages that do NOT work with mobile. Once I was hurrying to school. I wasn't sure what class or where I'm supposed to be. Tried to access Laurea Live teamsites with mobile. (Since laptop wasn't with me.) FYI- site does not co-operate with Android phone.

2) A little bit of content here and there. Small bits of content, each with targeted purpose that can be used in a variety of ways. For example a blog post in your e-mail newsletter.

3) Use customer data to personalize your message. Taylor your distribution- give added value. Personal discounts

4) Create relationships with branded sites
If content is at respected site it will make the content more trustful. 
Compare: Ad at Helsingin Sanomat web news vs. Ad at Iltalehti news

5) Pay for distribution
Sponsored posts and status updates are gaining popularity 
More and more people are doing blogging / vlogging for living. Even in Finland companies are hiring SoMe creators. http://www.marli.fi/ajankohtaista/?id=68&dep=2

6) Share in relevant communities 
For example: Beauty blogs in Cosmopolitan
http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/beauty-hair/

7) Reach out for influencers in your market 
At the 2015, word of mouth still has great power.
Popular bloggers are getting free things (clothes, make-up etc..) and they give comments about those products in their blog. When someone with big influence says "this is good" followers are going to get it.
Sometimes words aren't even needed, Pictures can be enough.

Usually anything Kate Middleton wears, ends up sold out. This dress was bought from "regular" shop and costed 38 Pounds.  

These seven tips/ ideas are from: https://hbr.org/2014/11/why-no-ones-reading-your-marketing-content

Adults Took Over Facebook

In 2007 a friend told me about this fairly new service called Facebook. It seemed interesting so I joined. I also had to join my university network as this was a prerequisite to use the service. Indeed, at the beginning my few Facebook friends were peers. Little by little more friends joined as they found Facebook and joining became simpler. Now, almost ten years later, most of my Facebook connections still are pretty much same age as me, but I think the majority is older than me. Especially my middle-aged family members and acquaintances have taken over my Facebook newsfeed.

Statistics show that this is a common trend: in the US less than two-fifths of Facebook’s adult user base is aged 18 to 34, whereas Facebook is the most popular social media platform among social media users aged 65+.

In recent years relatively biggest increase of the Facebook use has taken place among people over 40 years. Social media specialist Harri Pönkä calls Facebook “the social media platform for adults of all ages”, since although users under 20 still are the most active group, quantitatively there are more elders than them.

I find this development quite interesting from the content marketing point of view. Social media hasn’t been the preferred communication media for consumers born before 1981, as shown in this chart. Nevertheless, it’s obvious that there has been a shift towards social media use in older generations.

This proves the importance of target group analysis. Of course there are other demographics to be considered besides age, but age is one of the most important. When you know which social media platforms the adolescence uses and which ones are preferred by adults, it’s a lot easier to decide where to market your content and how to market it. Of course it’s also useful to realize that even the baby boomers can be approached through content marketing.     

-Kia

How to choose the best social media site for your business?

For businesses marketing to these users, the dilemma is how to optimize your marketing investment, content, and business impact by reaching the right prospective customers in the right channels.

So, how to choose the best social media site for your company? Here is a few tips:

Tip #1: Identify your customer. Your business will not be successful on any Social Media channel if you do not have the basic demographic of who your customer is and what their buying habits typically represent.  

Tip #2:  Quality Matters and not the quantity on social media channel. Don’t sign up for every social media channel: determine which is most relevant to your business.

Tip #3: Before deciding which social media channel to be active on, work out a clear and implementable plan. A plan really helps you to stay focused. When it comes to creating your social media goals, brainstorm a list of both typical and unusual ways social media could work for your brand.

Tip #4: Be patient. Social media takes time and an investment of your time over a sustained period in order to achieve results. Target right kind of customers is the key to get the sure shot success in marketing your brands in social media channels. The best way to be successful is being constant and consistent.

(click to see a bigger picture)

Take the time to find out what’s happening on each of these seven sites. They are all different, function differently. The only similarity between them is the ability to serve an audience in the social media universe.

-Anna

Sources: 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230020

http://us.accion.org/business-resources/articles-videos/choosing-right-social-media-platform-your-business

http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2014/03/05/social-media-platform-best-business/