Social media is fast becoming one of the most popular and accessible channels for brand visibility. Though its ability to deliver ROI is still a hotly debated topic, social media offers the promise of wide exposure online at a low (or no) cost. So it's no surprise that businesses both large and small are rushing to get in on the action and get their messages out through Facebook, Twitter, and other popular sites.
With so many new and exciting possibilities, and such a low barrier to entry, it's easy for companies to rush into social media and forget that they should still be approaching it with the same considerations that they would with any other marketing channel. The fact is, every marketing program requires the right strategy, effort, and budget to truly benefit from the opportunity. And every program needs to be viewed not only individually, but also as part of the overall marketing mix to ensure the right balance of investment and results.
It makes sense, then, for companies to go back to the basics when it comes to social media and use a key set of criteria to determine how it can be best utilized for their needs. Below are four rules to live by when it comes to investing in any channel, and how each can be applied when considering social media specifically.
Rule 1: Assess your resources
The success of every marketing channel ultimately lies in determining how much time and money you have to devote. Any online marketing program takes time and effort to build.
Consider whether you have the resources to manage a program yourself (and what that really means). If you don't, consider whether you can afford to remove yourself from the campaign management process entirely. Be sure to assess how much time and money you truly have to spend, and use those answers to determine which channels are right for you.
Apply it: Because social media can be so cost-effective, it's not usually thought of as a potential drain on resources. But time is money -- and social media requires a lot of time to really generate a presence. This can especially impact smaller businesses that might consider social media to be a cheap quick fix for generating brand awareness, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the effort.
It's best to think of social media like a plant. Water it constantly, and it will grow and thrive, but leave it unattended for a few days and... you get the picture. Social media can only be what you make of it. Before even beginning a campaign, determine how much time you can devote to cultivating your social media brand in order to see the biggest impact.
Rule 2: Optimize tracking and reporting
The key to effectively managing campaigns is having the ability to know what's working and what's not. Proper real-time tracking and reporting are imperative not only by channel, but across all channels as well. Doing so effectively might mean using duplicate tracking for initiatives such as search engine marketing, media buying, and affiliate marketing. If possible, use a single, centralized reporting tool for all campaigns, rather than maintaining separate tracking systems for each, or manually compiling and analyzing data.
Apply it: Because social media disseminates your message so quickly, it's critical to be able to gain insight into where and how your brand is appearing online. But there's another reason why monitoring campaigns is so important when it comes to social media in particular.
As your message spreads, your brand might appear in places you don't even know about it, leaving it vulnerable and unprotected. If you've decided that social media is for you, put a monitoring tool in place so you can keep tabs on what's being said about your brand across social platforms on a daily basis.
Free monitoring tools like blogpulse.com, monitter.com, and oneriot.com can help you stay up to date on what's happening in the real-time web, while analyzing and reporting on daily activity in the blogosphere. All of this helps you stay on top of your brand and message.
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