Everyone wants to do Social Media and I think that’s a good idea for the most part. The tricky thing is to have realistic expectations about doing it, how to do it and what to expect and in what time frame.
Now I’m an instant gratification girl so this is something I can really relate to.
A few things to think about before embarking on that Social Media campaign of yours:
1. Do you have a plan?
This is a very simple question with a very simple answer. Yes or no.
Difficulty depends on how you answer this question and whether or not you’re being honest. If you have a plan, is it well thought out? Is there an end goal in mind? Are you following it? If you don’t, you’ll get nowhere…plain and simple. Make a plan, check it twice, follow it, and tweak it. This obviously takes time. Take the proper time to create your plan completely and with strategy. You’ll be happy you did. Go to Step #2
2. How do I do it?
Once you have your plan, you follow it consistently. Pay attention to the responses, metrics, analytics and all those other words that mean you’re getting good traction on your content. AND speaking of content is yours interesting? Relevant? Make sense to people who aren’t engineers, rocket scientists and quantum physics experts? If that’s whom you’re creating content for, no one else will get it. UNLESS your target market is one or all
Of those targets, talk like a person with a 4th grade education. You want to talk TO your audience, not over or around them. There is an 80/20 rule that I hear a lot. 80% of the time you entertain and educate; 20% of the time you sell or self promote. I still think one size does not fit all. See what works for you.
3. What is a realistic expectation for your Social Media efforts?
Once again, this is a depends question…it depends on several factors. Are you writing good material and sharing the right content then you’ll be waiting forever for any positive impact on your business. Are you consistent? Same outcome. Generally, Social Media does not set the world on fire overnight. Do NOT expect that after three months of using Social Media (let’s assume you are using it correctly) people will be knocking down your doors for your service or product. Social Media is a virtual relationship. How does a relationship in the real world work? It takes time to develop trust and connect. Plan on getting the trust of your audience first and then you can start to expect some traction and a visible impact. NOW if you want to spend a TON of money then you can expect the timeline to be shorter. For the record, almost no one wants to spend a TON of money on their social media unless they’re very smart or they’re a big businesses with very deep pockets.
I know this seems like a relatively dry post for me. It is and here’s why. Too many people have a serious misperception of what social media can do for them and how long that will take. They think they can kind of “do Social” or even do it right for a few months or so and then just when they’re starting to see an impact, they stop because their business hasn’t tripled its revenue yet. Not realistic gang…not at all.
If you decide to utilize Social Media in your marketing equation, make sure you understand the effort, time and money it takes to do it correctly. Then make sure you have someone who knows what they’re doing to manage it. Please do not give that job to a 19 year old or the person who answers the phones and makes the schedule because they have some extra time. This is not an extra time job. It is a marketing strategy. Do it all the way or don’t do it at all. You can set a bunch of hundred dollar bills on fire in a few minutes and move on if you just want to throw money away.
Better yet…give those hundred dollar bills to me and I’ll do it for you; I promise.
