Social media marketing plans share some basic characteristics with any marketing plan, including the need for a product to sell, market research to identify who might want to buy it, and a channel through which to market the product. With these three components, you have all you need to take advantage of the information shared here.

You need to have a current and relevant blog. Make sure you include any promotions on your blog. Your blog can also announce clearances, specials and changes in location or hours. See to it that all of this gets posted to your blog.

It is important to decide how involved you want to be with your customers. Advertising through channels that are social and keeping it simplistic are the keys to driving sales. If you choose to communicate with your customers on a two-way basis, start slowly with a simple “Hello.” Your customers will lead you from there.

If you join a social media site, tell your existing customers that you have done so. This allows them to come into the 21st century with you. And this may also bring more of their friends. It is this type of free advertisement and customer loyalty that you cannot afford to pass up. It also carries more weight because it is a kind of referral.

Don’t simply push products blindly upon any reader that happens to scan through your blogs. Consider mixing in a few interesting stories, product reviews, or related external links. Ask questions, run contests, and post pictures. Engage those that follow you. Do product engagement, not product placement. Aim to create an association between your brand and your customers’ lifestyles and identities, rather than their wallets.

Social media marketing is all about social networking, so you need to tie your different sites together within the same network. Put up links on your site or blog to your Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accounts. On your Twitter profile, include the URL for your blog and Facebook. Linking your social media profiles together will potentially increase your customer base.

Keeping finding new ways to get in touch with your customers. If you get to know certain customers well, comment on their blogs or Facebook walls. However, don’t join a private conversation. Your responses should be limited solely to discussions centering on your business, product, or service.

Don’t go off half-cocked and start Facebooking and Twittering like mad until you have established a marketing plan. You need to decide on who will keep up the pages, what kind of layout is best and the amount of time that needs to be invested. You need deadlines when planning social media marketing, just like you do for other marketing campaigns, if you hope to accomplish anything. Stay committed to your plans, and you will be a social media marketing success.

If you’re looking for an easy venue for social media marketing, you should try Facebook. If an individual makes a comment on your post, all their friends will see a mention of this in their feed. Encourage followers to communicate online with you, and among themselves, to enhance your exposure.

Offer exclusive discounts and perks to those who follow your social media profiles. Give your followers an incentive to buy by giving them exclusive discounts or offering limited edition items with purchase. Running a contest is a great way to show fan appreciation. Or you can add in a special discount for followers for a limited time. In addition, you can tailor announcements that are exclusive to your website for social media.

When you make a post on Twitter, adding a tag is recommended. Just add in a “#,” followed by a relevant phrase, after you put updates up on your social media accounts. Choose your tags wisely and look for groups that your target audience would be likely to subscribe to.

Place a social media widget on your website for great results in social media marketing. Widgets are great tools that can rapidly increase visibility of site. Also, a widget allows consumers to vote on your site’s quality and re-tweet information themselves.

Help your customers feel that their concerns, questions, and feedback are important to you. Few customers want to communicate with a large and impersonal company. When a customer feels they can connect with you personally, they’re more likely to return.

Always answer to the messages and comments you receive on social networks. Check these sites on a daily basis and answer to everyone in a polite and professional manner.

By using the tips here and learning more as you go along, you can become a better business person and owner. It will take a lot of hard work to master them both, but if you can manage to pull it off, the end result will be a well-oiled company and profit in your pockets.

Allow consumers to easily subscribe to your social media pages. Many people log onto their favorite social media sites every day, so allowing them to follow you makes it so your business will pop up on their feed when they log in.

Categories: Social Media Marketing

Tags: media marketing, social media