Social Media Plan
Social Media Plan (SMP), A Must For Every Business
A social media plan is In this day and age a must for every business. If a business engages online then a social media plan must be part of the marketing mix.
No social media plan means less organic traffic. Organics traffic is the traffic which comes through the website in other ways than paid online marketing.
Social media is seen as referral traffic. As often your direct friends, show your messages to their friends, your indirect contact, and therefore traffic gets referred to your website.
Social traffic can be highly effective, because of its viral nature.
Social Media Plan Today
To set up a social media plan there need to be a few elements in place to make it full circle.
Business needs:
- A website which enables conversions, without this element any time or money spent on social media or used in online advertising is wasted.
- An online advertising campaign preferable Google Ads and extended with other platforms like Bing, Yahoo, LinkedIn and Facebook ads.
- A social media campaign. There is a wide range of social media platforms to choose from. Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Twitter are the main ingredients but these might depend on the goal of the campaign, and the nature of your business, product or service.
Of the three elements, a highly converting website is the most important element. Lots of traffic with no conversions means lots of dollars spent and no dollars in revenue. All efforts on the advertising leg and social media will be wasted if the website does not convert. This needs to be tested first. Google Ads is then the best tool, to test conversions fast.
What Is A Highly Converting Website?
Highly converting websites are websites which enable visitors to register, download, subscribe or buy, depending on the key objective of the conversion. It needs to be a website with focused content, focused on the campaign goals and optimized for the search engines. IE SEO applied.
Thorough keyword research is of vital importance. Every campaign needs to have a specific set of keywords which are in line with the website, the message, and the campaign objective. Keyword research also shows the opportunities and gateways to cheap traffic. A competitor keyword analysis is part of this research.
What Is A Conversion?
A conversion happens when a visitor of the website turns from a visitor to a user of the website. For instance when the visitor becomes a customer of the product or service. Under conversion, we also mean capturing somebody’s email address, or when they download a document. If campaigns send targeted traffic, then eventually some visitors will buy into the campaign, normally somewhere between 2% – 5%. These percentages we call the conversion rates..
Social Media is only a part of the marketing mix. Depending on the product, service or even the goals the social media networks can be chosen. Not every social media website/platform would work for your specific goals.
One thing is absolutely vital: Never sell in social media platforms. The key element in social media is the word social. Hard-selling is a no, no. The hard-sell takes place on the website. Social media helps to create brain position and branding for services and products. Social media is also ideal to create a buzz. Create credibility through social media. People buy when they trust. Build that trust through social media. But let them buy on your website.
Social Media Plan Specifics
When creating the social media plan, schedule them on a calendar, then create a variety of goals and objectives. Once defined, then for every objective, a plan can be set out. Separate products and services go in several campaigns, This makes it easier to track how each product or service converts. IE do not confuse clients, every product or service requires a separate social media campaign.
Connect With Existing Clients For Brand Retention
This goal helps to connect with existing clientele. Two options here, either create groups in other social media networks. Or choose to have an open or closed group for specific products or services. Or decide to open an internal social media platform for all customers integrated into the company website. Yammer and BuddyApp are great open-source software packages to enable and create an internal social media platform.
Attract New Clients And Create A Greater Online Exposure
Social Media is definitely a great way to attract new clientele and expand your brand exposure. Don’t go manually; seek tools that fit your needs. There are all sorts of software tools to help you boost your network. Be creative in campaigns, your power is your network. Create a network that works for you. If all your clients request 3 friends to join too, your network will grow exponentially.
Social Freebies
Give away freebies; great freebies are ebooks and whitepapers, in which you can promote your services among other information. People share ebooks with other people. Use it to promote your business and products.
Best Tip:
Get your marketing team on a social media course or get a consultant in-house to get everyone up-to-speed on the latest options in social media marketing. The course or consultation will boost your social network and your understanding of how to operate social media effectively.
A social media plan is a must for every company which takes itself seriously. You should have at least one person dedicated to the marketing department. This person manages, implements, tracks and controls the social media channels. Reach your goals and run a controlled social media plan.
