Slow and Steady Wins the Race

consistencyWondering about the single best thing you can do for your marketing plan in the upcoming year? Stay consistent. People thrive on consistency, and if they can’t get it from your company, you can bet they’re going to find it somewhere else. Planning to post your blog every Monday and Wednesday? Great. Post every Monday and Wednesday. Planning to update your social media feeds every morning? Great. Do it.

What About Trying Something New?

As you analyze what’s working and what isn’t with regard to social media marketing, content marketing, or anything else, there’s nothing wrong with trying something new. The key, though, is that you don’t simply try it and abandon it without taking a solid look at the analytics. If, for instance, not a single person is opening the newsletters you send, adjust your strategy. Maybe a newsletter isn’t right for your company. What you can’t do, however, is walk away because you haven’t put the time and effort into that part of your marketing plan.

It’s tough to market your own company when you’re so caught up in providing services and products to other people, particularly when you’re a fairly small operation. The reality, though, is that it’s a must. You need new customers to survive, and marketing is a good way to get them.

There may come a point when you just need to automate your marketing so it actually gets accomplished. When you hit that point, we’ll be there with the writing services and social media management help you need. Give us a call when that happens. We’ll be happy to help.

How Much is Social Media Doing For Your Company?

spreadsheet-1-541349-mSmall or large, every company can use social media to make more out of marketing efforts. As often as you virtually socialize, though, how much is social media actually doing for your company? Would those customers be walking through your door if you had never set up a Facebook profile? Would they be responding to your ad if you hadn’t put a note on it on your Twitter account?

Evaluating Social Media Success

Just like every other marketing method needs to be evaluated, you have to keep an eye on your social media numbers to decide how well things are working for you. You can’t simply keep putting posts out there without knowing what they’re really doing for your company. If you do, you’re just shooting in the dark.

Wondering where to start? You may want to get a baseline impression initially. Before you amp up your posting efforts, start a new campaign, or even hire a new social media marketing company, taking a closer look at your starting place is an absolute must. Think carefully about your metrics here. You can measure your starting revenue, followers, or even commenters. Exactly what you’re trying to measure is up to you. Many people want to see it financially paying off, and if that’s the case, you’ll want to look just at revenue. Others want to see a dramatic increase in those who seem to care about their posts.

Your next step is to look at how much you’re spending on your efforts. This doesn’t just have to be physical spending. It could also involve your time. For most small business owners, time is a valuable resource, and understanding exactly what your social media marketing efforts are sucking from your company can help you quantify whether it’s worth it.

Finally, start paying attention. Is your revenue increasing? Are your costs stabilizing? Choose a few times a week to look at the metrics you’ve set for yourself, and measure them consistently. It’s the only way you’ll truly know if you’re getting a good deal.

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Make Your Social Media Profile More Inviting

social mediaYou know you need to work on your social media approach. It’s just the prudent thing to do in a world where Pinterest, Twitter, and G+ rule the game. How can you amp up your social media efforts and increase your business in return? These tips can help.

  • Focus your Interactions: You probably want one main thing from each profile you’ve built, right? Is it to get more followers? Encourage people to sign up for your newsletter? Disseminate information about sales and specials? Figure out what your goal is, then ensure everything you do pushes you toward that goal.
  • Don’t Stick to Self-Serving Posts: There’s no way that simply advertising your new posts, your new sale, your new employees, or just generally being you-centric is really going to help you reach your goal. Social media doesn’t work that way. Imagine, for a moment, you’re at a party. As you work your way around the room, you spend the entire time talking about you. No one is going to want to speak to you after five minutes of that behavior, and the same is true for your social media interactions.
  • Create a Schedule: If you post too often, people are going to get sick of hearing from you. Post too little, and people will get sick of looking for you. You have to find a happy medium. A general rule of thumb is not to post more than three times per day per platform. Don’t post less than once a week on each platform.
  • Generic is, well, Generic: If you go with generic LinkedIn invites, Facebook Walls, or Twitter Profiles, guess what? You’re going to look generic. Get creative!
  • Stay Connected: Treat every single friend or contact like a real one. Don’t hesitate to give a shout-out when they have a personal accomplishment they’ve Tweeted about. Try to offer as much personalization as is possible within your interaction.

Social media marketing is still uncharted waters, and it can be tough to fit it into your current marketing plan. That’s where we come in. With robust social media marketing services, let us handle the details while you focus on your business. Contact us today to learn more.