Everyone is telling you that you should have a social media presence, so what do you need to know to get started? Perhaps you have been approached by a firm offering to manage your social media presence, or possibly you have already taken steps to manage your own social media persona online. Regardless of where you are in the game, there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the barriers of entry for social media marketing. The good news is that it isn’t that difficult to get started. Below are 5 easy tips and resources we recommend to those interested in trying their hand at social media marketing.
- Do your homework.
There are countless places you can get free information on how to do anything you need in social media. Youtube provides some great tutorials for how to use various social media sites. This requires a little time, but you will learn valuable tips and strategies along the way.
- Know your goal. Your social media efforts need to have a target whether that is connection with customers or prospects, delivering information on your product or service, or building long term relationships and supplying useful information and resources to them.
- Engage. Social Media is a conversation, not a billboard. Getting to know your customers will help you deliver what they want in a way that gives you what you want as well. You have to effectively reach your audience and tell them what you have to offer. As people get interested, you can take in suggestions and make them feel like they are part of the process.
- Stick with it. Consistency is the key. Many people fail because they simply give up after not seeing immediate results. You will have to embed this media in your lifestyle completely. You cannot expect to have people come to you if you are not there to respond. If you are not willing to be there, you may consider hiring someone to manage your social media efforts.
- One tool at a time. Decide which tools you will use and develop them one at a time. It is easy to get carried away with too many social media tools. Social media takes time to develop and to maintain. Take a single platform and get it going and working before moving on to another one. There is always a new platform coming out; don’t get sucked in to using them all.
Getting started with social media can seem overwhelming, but it is really a matter of getting started, learning more, and staying consistent. Doing this can let anyone develop a social media presence for themselves. For more tips read our blog and contact us if you have questions or if you are interested in having us manage your social media efforts.
Adam Chronister is co-founder of Enleaf, an award winning Web Design and Internet Marketing Firm. You can find him on Facebook Facebook and Twitter.