This is a thought that is always in my head – “Social Media is not one channel – it’s multichannel”
And a little bit of me dies when a start-up business says they’re going to market their new business via Social Media
And let me explain, because you wouldn’t expect that coming from a Social Media business
A little bit of me dies because I see businesses all the time that put it in their business plan that they will market via Social Media and they offer no specifics. No meat. No Details. And I see them months later with doors open, no customers and them flicking through a newspaper oblivious to that fact
Social Media is not one channel – it’s multichannel – and to market to multi-channels you need to have a plan, be specific and be targeted in your approach
I honestly believe that when Bank Managers, Loan Companies, Business Coaches and Town Centre Loan Schemes read the words Social Media in a Business Marketing Plan – their eyes shouldn’t light up with glee like Gollum when he’s seen the ring in LOTR, but that should be the opportunity to probe the where, what, how and when questions and get down to as much detail as they have done on the financials
So many businesses are going to the wall, because the people approving their Business plan don’t truly understand Social Media
Here’s a guide to what should be the detailed approach to Social Media in your business plan
BE SPECIFIC
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogging, Instagram, Youtube, Periscope, Google+, Snapchat
There’s more than those platforms – but what I want you to think about is that those listed above are separate channels, that can be used together, and are all potential income streams for your business
Social Media isn’t just something you put in a business plan to make it sound better
It’s something you need to embrace with open arms and have a specific targeted plan for
So
1. WHERE? Out of those listed above – write down all the ones your target market use – and then order them in priority picking the 2 priorities to start with (we can help with this if you don’t know)
2. WHAT? What are you going to post – each channel is different and whilst there will be some crossover – different content will be needed for each channel
3. HOW? How are you going to seduce your customers on these platforms when so many businesses are using them
4. WHEN? When is the best time to post? When will you start your campaign pre-launch? When will you assess how well the campaign is doing?
This is just the start of where your business plan should be heading in rather than the vague “we will market via Social Media” statement which means so many businesses have a dabble with it before giving up
SWOT ANALYSIS OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
If you’ve never heard of SWOT Analysis it stands for Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats
SWOT Analysis is something you can do for your business as a whole, but it’s also something you can drill down on for your Social Media Marketing
Think about all the skills you need for Social Media Marketing – Technical Skills, Creativity (words, graphics and video), Analytical Skills, Dedication.
Very few people naturally have all 4 skill sets and there are areas you need to work on
Being self aware enough to know what your Strengths and Weaknesses are and knowing when to seek help for your weaknesses will be your greatest asset in business
It’s something we think about regularly for our own Social Media and that of our clients and it still works for Social Media Professionals – we’ve generated more business from Facebook in the past 12 months than ever before because we acknowledged facebook was something that needed more work
YOU NEED TO ACTION
A funny thing happens when you take action – great things happen
The problem with so many small businesses is they don’t have the patience to make Social Media work for them
Social Media Marketing is not a quick fix, but for those that put the work in it brings great results
And remember what we said about Social Media not being one channel – it’s multichannel – that means that in order for you to make individual channel work, you have to action on each of them
On launch we would recommend going all in on 2 channels and mastering those before looking at others
HOW CAN YOU BE BETTER THAN THE AVERAGE?
Social Media is noisy – make no mistake about that
The key question to keep asking about your Social Media is – but how can we do this better?
In the world of social media you can dominate by being noisier than the competition (aka spam) or you can dominate by adding more value and being more engaging
The problem with thinking of Social Media as one channel, businesses see just being on Social Media as a victory.
The real victory is being better than the average and bringing in multiple streams of income from multiple Social Media channels
And you can only really win, by being better than the average on Social Media
CHAT TO US
At Altrincham HQ we believe more businesses should be harnessing the power of social media
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
