Yes we know that this isn’t a headline you would expect to see from a marketing company but none the less, we feel this topic deserves some attention. While we are normally ecstatic when a client wants to sit down and discuss adding social mediato their current marketing efforts with us, there are many precautions we throw out to make sure they are well aware of how difficult and time-consuming this can be.
It's not just for increasing sales.....
Dedicated Staff: One of the first concepts I like to point out to clients about social media is having dedicated staff members within their own business that can successfully follow through with social media tactics. Throwing a Twitter or Facebook account at just anyone won’t do. They have to know the goals for each outlet and understand the dedication it takes to run them.
Investment of time and money: Successfully maintaining social media accounts can take up a lot of time. The reason being is you cannot simply post one or two things on Twitter or Facebook a week. There has to be a method behind each post and they need to be frequent enough to show that you are an active user. Also be prepared to invest some money into your business – there really is no value in doing it wrong, especially when it comes to traditional and social media marketing. Investing online is not just a viable means of marketing, its essential these days.
Unclear Brand: Consistency is key when you are building a brand for your business. The same notion applies to social media. If you do not have a clear brand to uphold through regular marketing then how do you plan to get a consistent message across to Twitter and Facebook followers.
Lack of Online Presence: This is a big one! If you do not have a good presence online within the search engines and you do not have a constant stream of fresh content through blogs, articles or press releases, then it is difficult to maintain a social media campaign. Having relevant information about your business and industry that is written from within is the best way to produce high quality posts both on Facebook and Twitter.
Education: If no one in your company knows how to use or has not heard of Twitter or Facebook then it may be difficult to start a fresh campaign. While there are numerous materials out there on how to use social media, there should be a pre-existing understanding or curiosity from one or members from within the business before this marketing outlet is considered.
Using social media to gain customers, increase sales and build a network within your industry have been proven to work for many small to corporate size business. You will not, however, see results without dedication, time, brand consistency and proper education.
Tags: blush marketing rapid city, Business, Facebook, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, marketing in rapid city, Online Communities, rapid city marketing company, Social media, Twitter, YouTube
