Your Winning Strategy for Using Social Media for Your Business

Using social media to market your business is a tricky journey. With so many options and so many wrong ways to do it, many business owners spend lots and lots of time (and money) trying to figure out this whole new world of building customer relationships and loyalty. Many times all of the time and energy barely pays off with a splash of difference. It's time to get focused. Here is your winning social media marketing strategy for your business - any business, in fact. First, you need to determine which web sites are right for your business. Some businesses may utilize one or two options, while others may benefit from many more. You don't necessarily need to know a lot about each site, but rather what people use each site for. Users of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linked-In, Youtube and the others spend time at the sites for different reasons. It's vital that you do research on why people use these sites and then if it makes sense to spend time marketing your business there. Then you need to go on a field trip, with the purpose of watching and observing (not yet participating). The good news is that your field trip will cost you no money, but rather an investment of your time. And it can be done from home, in your pajamas. All of your options are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Since most business owners and managers have little time during business hours to spend on social media marketing, much can be done at other times. Your field trip will consist of going to the sites that you're considering using for your business and observe how the people engage and communicate with one another. Don't participate just yet, but rather just observe how more veteran users are behaving (posting, tweeting, submitting, updating). Next, and this is a very, very important part of your strategy, is to understand the difference between "push" marketing and "pull" marketing. Once you decide to take your business online, you must treat your customers and potential customers with the highest respect and consideration. Your marketing efforts online will not be successful if you plan to just promote your business or your product in "old-school" marketing ways like couponing, discounts and specials ("push" marketing). You'll get much more positive results if you use social media to build long term relationships with your customers, to build their trust, and to provide them with a unique and cutting edge way of communicating with you ("pull" marketing). Now, you need to learn the facts. Lots of data is available on the habits of social media users. Sure, there are hundreds of millions of users. But when is the best time to communicate with your target customers and how? Are some days better than others to post and tweet? Can you post and tweet too little or too much? Should you use just text or pictures and videos, as well? Getting answers to these questions and more will save you lots of time and energy, and increase your chances of having a successful strategy. Finally, it's time to dive in, but do so smartly. When registering for social media sites, be mindful of the branding of your business. Go to the help section of the sites to find out what's available for businesses (for instance, at Facebook and Google+, there are personal profiles and business profiles, but at Twitter and Linked-In, that's not the case). Make sure your social media "footprint" is in concert with the spirit and integrity of your brand, including your logo, tag line, colors, texture and tone. Be courteous, inviting and accessible. Don't look to sell your product or service to people (the "push"), but rather provide them with tips and information about your product and service (the "pull"). And be ready to interact with people, hopefully responding to questions and requests for information quickly and efficiently.

If you follow this social media marketing strategy, your chances greatly improve of being successful. For more information, visit MaestroSocialMedia.com Coordinating the many social media options for your business can be like conducting an orchestra. Once the different options are working in concert, it can be very effective for your business. I hear a symphony...MaestroSocialMedia.com