Part 3: Most of us would agree that social media is an important platform to participate in for businesses and organizations. What remains the question is at what level? This depends on several factors, including your type of business and community preferences.
Regardless of those differences here are 5 how-to’s steps to developing a strong social media presence:
1) Integrate SM into your offline efforts. Social media is most powerful when it’s integrated into your overall marketing efforts. At BloodSource California, we’ve noticed that they create online messaging to support their offline campaigns and then re-engage with their community online after the event. It’s very personal, too with thanks to individual participants. LUV it!
2) Understand trigger points: Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Klout and others can be extremely helpful in identifying your communities areas of interest and true social reach. Review individual posts regularly to help understand what activates your community. It’s in this space, that your fans will share you with their friends.
3) Collaborate, collaborate, and collaborate: Never stop collaborating with your community. We were recently reminded of how important this is, when developing a Facebook page for a mental health organization for youths. Just before we started creative, we had a conversation with the frontline and heard that we were headed in the wrong direction. We had instead focused too heavily on organizational concerns and lost sight of youth preferences.
4) Think big and act small: Powerful ideas can be born out of a single conversations. A new client or slightly revised product can be identified from an existing frustration or problem. The opportunities are out there, so you’ll want to make sure you’re listening when they come up.
5) Keep organizational culture in mind: All kinds of issues can get in the way of engaging with clients. Fear of losing control is typically the biggest concern. It’s true, you do lose a bit of control, but we ask, did you ever really have it? If your organization is anxious about getting into social media, we recommend that you start small and build, as you go. It will take work to convince naysayers, but they’ll come around.

We’d like to chat with you about your social media opportunities. Send me an email at Janet@zoomcrossmedia.com or call 916-939-8025 to arrange.