If you are into digital marketing and already using social media marketing in your campaigns you most likely know that conversation is king with Web 2.0. When most people start with social media marketing, it is really hard not to behave like a small child getting a new toy. There’s so many popular social media channels available and you want to be on all of them. You start engaging, tweeting, posting, sharing, liking, and following everything you come across.
While this may work for a while, it is definitely going to be difficult to maintain it in the long run. Especially as your client responsibility grows. We want to do all with social media, but it is not possible without burning yourself out in the end. If you are starting out with social media, what can you do so that you can keep on going without burning yourself out? Here’s a couple of tips that will help you with this.
What are you goals?
With social media, it is really easy to get distracted with your own personal network and your competitors. Your competitors might be bolder, brighter, and might be more in your face than you are, but don’t worry. Keep your goals focused on what you are busy doing and why you are doing it. Stick to your social media goals and work to achieve them.
Social media channels
Social media is fun and while you think it is going to be best to put all your clients and yourself on every single popular social media channel, it is very likely that not every channel is going to be appropriate for every campaign. If you are continuously listening to the audience you are trying to reach on the various social media channels, you can then decide which one’s are going to be the best for your campaign. I have found that in the beginning it is better if you only focus on a few channels where you can commit to rather than committing halfway through all of them.
Don’t follow everyone
This is most likely the hardest step of them all. Not all of the relationships you are going to build with social media will benefit you. Some relationships will never take off, and some will. No matter how hard you try or how many followers you have, if these aren’t targeted and in line with your goals, it might be time to seek new connections.
Don’t pull your hair out
Social media is not a race where you want to win around every turn. Whether you are managing the social media campaign for yourself or for someone else, it is vital that you remember that if you lose precious “fans” or followers, they weren’t really loyal to your brand or purpose. It is important that you build a targeted network of meaningful relationships with fewer “likes” and followers than a fake one with many. Quality over quantity!
Re-assessing your strategy
Not every social media campaign will be as successful as you hope it should be. Not every piece of content that you share will get responses. This is not a bad thing. Never be afraid to experiment. If something doesn’t work in your social media campaign, review and start again.
Social media marketing should be an ongoing effort. Don’t give up. If you are able to stick to the goals with your campaign, do the work, cut the noise, and enjoy it.
