When developing your marketing plan, including social media as a component is a very important step. Remember that marketing is the process of sharing information and what better and faster tool to use than social media.
Have you developed your marketing plan but forgot to include social media or didn’t know what should be included? Then let me help you by listing a few things that should get your started. I’m using the acronym, A.C.C.E.S.S., to help you remember.
Asking – don’t be afraid to ask your consumers what they want or need because this can help you develop a social media marketing plan to better suit them.
Compare – it is always a good idea to assess what your competitors are doing and compare it to what you plan to do; this may help you come out ahead in your industry.
Communication – it is key that you choose your communication channels wisely and then implement a communication plan that will not only reach your consumers but also entice them to buy from you.
Engaging - don’t just push your marketing plan to your consumers but also entice them to interact with you so that it can be a two-way communication process. Then listen to what they have to say.
Success – measuring your success is important so make sure that you create a way to monitor your efforts from the beginning.
Strategize – being prepared is the most important thing you can do so make sure that you have a strategy with a good solid base foundation to build on.
Hopefully this starter list can help you gain A.C.C.E.S.S. to your consumer and encourage them to buy from you by using social media in your marketing plan. To help you learn more about social media marketing, I have included the video below.
This couple minute presentation will explain why the traditional business website may not be as effective and how the effective use of Social Media can improve your websites performance.
In his BlogWell New York case study presentation, “Listening in the Social Media Era,” Microsoft’s Worldwide Director of Microsoft Community Support Services, Nestor Portillo, describes how to capture the voice of your customers and incorporate it into your product or service by engaging influences and using social media analytical tools.
Microsoft is using the voice of the customer to innovate products and services, identify broad and high impact problems, and deflect support costs by proactively posting relevant, easy-to-discover content. The big point that Nestor stressed was that companies need to listen to the people using their services and to interact directly with them, otherwise they may not be a customer for much longer.
Social media case study from Megan Parker and Sean Gannon of GE
In the BlogWell New York case study presentation, “Telling Our Story,” Sean Gannon and Megan Parker talk about how, at times, the best and most effective way to tell your story is to take it straight to the people who care. GE launched GEReports.com in October 2008, and in just a few short months, has seen great success and learned valuable lessons in engaging with those people who are actively interested in the happenings at GE.
GE has to deal with unifying a diverse company — one that has branches in entertainment, consumer electronics, medical equipment, and jet engines. GE found success by catering to the interests of their fans: Their blog is published on the website, via RSS, and as an email newsletter; the GE Reports videos go on YouTube, and Megan Parker is available on the company’s Twitter account.
