Late to the Party: Getting Started on Social Media

Better late than never. Being fashionably late to the social media party is not something to boast about, but it’s also not the end of the world. Getting started on social media takes some planning and execution. But like any initiative with the proper knowledge and organization making social media happen effectively is possible.

Three ways to get your business social media off the ground:

1. Identify strategy

The first step is setting your strategy, target audience, and goals. This will be crucial to your page’s success and the messaging your organizing will run with.

• What type of business are you?
• What is your target demographic?
• What type of grassroots movement can you create?
• How can you leverage your employees and loyal customers?

2. Define what social media platform works best for your business interests

The number one mistake businesses make on social media is spreading themselves too thin. YouTube, Pinterest, and Tumblr are great platforms for individuals and many times they fit your business model wonderfully. But if you’re just getting involved on social media its crucial to focus on the network that fits your business objectives most.

For retailers that network is typically Facebook. So your business should focus their efforts there. Understanding one platform and utilizing it effectively is a tall enough task for businesses. Once you can prove results their then you can focus on tackling another.

3. Pick the right social media management tool

Choosing the right social media management tools are significant to operating an effective social media marketing campaign. There are several tools and third party agencies that work with businesses to help them control, maintain, and grow their social media presence and choosing the right one takes time and research.

The key is to find a tool or agency that works in your industry and understands your business strategies. The reason for this is there is no cookie cutter strategy to social media. What works for one business type will not always work for another. You need to choose an agency that works in your business field and has all of the tools and knowledge necessary to leverage social media and launch your business digitally.

With the proper strategy, platform, and tools your business can strive on social media within months of implementation. Without the proper planning, most business flat line and their effort and resources allocated to the project dwindle.

The key to social media success is planning and surrounding yourself with a team of people and tools that work with your company wide initiatives. Those are the components to a successful campaign.