Applying Small Business Drive to Social Media Marketing
Posted: December 07, 2011
Entrepreneurs, brand builders, and small business owners are facing a steep obstacle course on the path to success. Now, you face "social media marketing" — which can only add to your daily uphill climb.
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Photo Courtesy of Talentzoo[/caption]Over the last few years, I've encountered many small business owners who face the same two major obstacles in establishing a successful social media presence on their own: the unfamiliar landscape of popular social media networks and tight marketing budgets. The new terrain makes it difficult for owners to gauge how they should begin and the lack of funds make it impossible for them to follow the route of larger brands with robust digital media campaigns, paid advertising, and resource-draining promotional stunts. But it is possible for a small business, start-up, or new brand to start their own social media marketing projects in-house and on a miniscule budget. All it takes are the same internal resources that got the business up-and-running in the first place.
Make a commitment to the challenge.
Entrepreneurs, brand builders, and small business owners are facing a steep obstacle course on the path to success. Now, you face "social media marketing" — it can either become a separate hill you must climb and conquer or it can be fully incorporated into your daily operations and become another part of that steep hill.
If you make a commitment to the challenge of marketing with social media and fully integrate it with your business goals, eventually those obstacles become ledges and that hill is suddenly a lot easier to climb. But if you only see it as an obstacle, that is all it will ever be.
Make it a priority.
At one point or another, it took a great deal of proactive energy, zeal, and passion to get your brand or business going. You made your dream the priority.
Many realize the importance of social media marketing and go through the motions of establishing profiles on Twitter and Facebook only to let them languish after a few short months. And herein lies the problem with most fledgling programs — they are not given the same attention or importance as other aspects of the business. When setting up your social media program, either take on the task yourself or assign it to an employee as a Priority. Make "Digital Marketing Manager" a part of their job title and ensure, by every means necessary, that this is a long-term role. Whoever takes on the role must be proactive in nature because social media marketing is very much a proactive enterprise.
Give it milestones.
Successful businesses are built on solid foundations and no brand finds success without structure and milestones. Give your social media program the same six-month and year-end projections as your sales department. Set realistic milestones, with the realization that grassroots social media marketing takes time to develop as well as proactive engagement. Once a milestone is reached, set another.
In short, when it comes to your business, don't put social media marketing on autopilot. Take it for a spin and see what it can do.
Biz Tip Source: TalentZoo
Author: Judi Cultrone