1. Identify your goals
Like any other form of marketing, there’s no point using a social media strategy if it doesn’t help you meet your goals. So, before formulating your social media strategy, re-visit your business vision, and check whether social media is a good fit for what you’re trying to achieve.
If you’re keen to build up your personal profile or to increase traffic to your website, then social media is perfect for you and your business.
2. Drive web traffic with link-building sites
Providing content to link-building sites such as Squidoo, HubPages, Weebly, Delicious and Digg can be a very useful way of improving the amount of traffic that search engines send your way.
To get search engine results, you’ll need to provide lots of content with highly targeted keywords, and should focus on authority sites and getting links from them back to your site.
Aside from those listed above, others to consider include Blogger and Ezine Articles. More platforms are popping up all the time, so don’t just stick to one – spread yourself around!
3. Promote your personal brand using networking sites
Networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and the Flying Solo forums allow you to make friends, create groups and participate in conversations.
The purpose of networking sites is pretty self-explanatory; they’re for meeting people and building relationships. Treat these online sites just as you would a networking event offline, except that you’re sitting at your computer and your conversations take place over a longer than normal timeframe.
Create a profile on forums and ask questions, post answers and generally talk to people. Share your expertise and you’ll become recognised as an expert in your field – as long as your answers and your attitude are good!
4. Follow the golden rule
Never, ever, sell or spam these places. Treat other users with respect. Demonstrate your expertise, make yourself easy to find and if others think you have something to offer, they’ll come to you.
Remember, a social media strategy is a way of advertising yourself, not a way of selling yourself! As with any other marketing strategy, the aim is to generate leads. There’s plenty of time to sell to prospects when they visit your website!
5. Take a long-term approach
Social media is easy and free, but regardless of whether you’re employing a link-building strategy or a networking one it can also be time consuming. Treat it as a long-term process from the start and you’re more likely to be successful in the end.
For example, if you’re writing articles for link building purposes, you’re going to need plenty of original content ready to go, and to spend time creating more on a regular basis. You won’t get to page one of Google overnight, and in some cases it may take a couple of years. Similarly, you’ll need to spend time building any relationships you form in online communities. This is definitely not a set-and-forget marketing tactic so don’t treat it as one.
Got any more tips for newbies developing a social media strategy? Boost your profile among Australia’s most vibrant micro business community by sharing them below!
“ Like any other form of marketing, there’s no point using a social media strategy if it doesn’t help you meet your goals. ”
Emma Rhoades owns Diva Promotions and specialises in providing marketing and advertising information to small and solo business owners.