Social Media Marketing Plan for Small Business - Issue 10

Stellar Evolution - click to Read

When I started studying stellar physics back in undergraduate school, I distinctly remember looking at the math involved, partial differential equations, and thinking to myself, "You're screwed."  I knew calculus and differential equations but even the notations involved in partial differential equations looked foreign.  I was out of my element and I knew it.  I had no idea where to start, how to start or even if I could start. That feeling that in the movie the Replacement Players was expressed as "Quick Sand," where you knew you were sinking and even trying to save yourself, accelerated the rate that you were sinking.

As it turns out, it wasn't the death of me.  I had to pick a point, any point, and just move forward.  For me, that point was admitting I was clueless and asking for help.  2 days later, I was out of confusion and into the interior of stars. Social Media Marketing Plans felt like that for me too, and once again, I was wrong.  

At the end of this article, I list two web resources from which I drew this advice, and I suggest you go there for more information and clarification if you like what you read and want to do it.
1) Who are you trying to reach? - For example, in American Express Open forum, I read, "Women between the ages of 18 and 29 comprise Facebook’s primary audience, for instance, while LinkedIn’s users are predominantly males with graduate-level education. Find out where your target customers are networking online." If you are using Linkedin, and you're selling books on why education is a waste of time, you might want to rethink your strategy. 

1a) Sit down and write down who you are trying to reach, and why, then go after the network or networks that touch that demographic. The Pew Research Internet Project list the demographics of most of the major Social Media networks. Start there.

1b) Now make sure that your profiles are completely filled out. It's hard to find you if your information is missing. Buffer Social suggests that you keep your pictures consistent with your business and each other across platforms and that you make sure they are sized correctly. "You can consult a social media image size chart that will show you the exact breakdown of dimensions for each photo on each network."

2) Your USP, or unique selling proposition, needs to be well in hand.  Greg Silva, the CEO of United Professionals, retaught us this vital concept 20 years ago when we couldn't answer the question, "What Makes You Different than Everybody Else?"

Once you know, and can be written down, what makes you unique, you can begin to write social media posts that talk about your "USP," and even know what products you should sell or discount to stay consistent with your USP.

3) What's Your Flavor? You need to know your company's personality, Buffer Social suggest, by asking questions like "If your brand was a person, what kind of personality would it have?

Once you know what personality you are going to project, you company's flavor, be consistent in all of your posts. Don't let emotions, attitudes or other people or companies drag you out of your personality.  Nobody likes false people or companies.

4) Start slow, but START NOW.

Finally, we suggest something like Hootsuite.com to help you organize your posts.  Its easy, inexpensive, and organizes your own content the way you want it.  One way or the other, however, start.

The 2 Awesome sites we borrowed most of this from are:

American Express & Buffer Social.  Click their name here, and read their take on a social media marketing plan.

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Products that Can Help:

How to Create Your "Unique Selling Proposition" (USP)