An entrepreneur who doesn’t take the time to master the art of social marketing is heading nowhere and fast!
Most of the time when we hear the phrase “social marketing” we think of all the new social media sites like twitter and facebook that have changed our economy in recent years. Yes, that’s correct, completely changed our economy …
But that’s not what I mean when I refer to “social marketing”…to me “social marketing” really means Relationship Marketing.
The point of being social is to build new relationships and strengthen old ones. I can’t think of any entrepreneur who doesn’t need new and strong relationships to sustain their business.
Now that we’re clear on Social Marketing, we can move on to the important aspects of marketing every entrepreneur must have clear with in their business plans.
Overall, marketing is what you say and who you say it to. Those are 2 of the 3 main points in Social Marketing.
Let’s cover the main concept behind each:
- Who? In my opinion, this is the most important part of your marketing strategy. The worst thing you can do is spread a message that tries to catch the attention of all the different people in your target market. Instead, the most successful marketing strategies have a very specific targeted focus for each niche within your target market.
Basically, if your product best fits a 35-year-old male, who is divorced, and 30 pounds overweight, you need to make sure all your marketing speaks to him! After you master reaching this group, you can target his sister who is 50 pounds overweight with a different message that appeals to her specific emotions.
- What? Now that you’re clear on who you’re targeting, what are you going to tell them? What do you think they need? What do they feel they need?
The right answer is what they want. Get in the mind of your ideal client and think about their emotions, fears, wants and aspirations. Master what takes them in and out of their comfort zones. Learn anything and everything you can about them and start to speak their language. Focus on the end result they want, the result your product/service can provide for them. This is the key to having someone want to do business with you versus you having to convince them.
- How? Social media marketing, media buying online, affiliate marketing, mobile marketing, direct mail, newsletters, postcards, radio, TV, blah blah blah. I can go on for days about the different media or “tools” someone can use to get what they’re saying to who their saying it to. The key here is to eventually test all of them but not all at once. Start with the strategy you think best fits the “who” in your business plan. Stick to it full force for no less then 90 days. During this time, research, launch, and test it to maximize your ROI (Return on Investment). Once you’re happy with the success of your campaign, add another media outlet and do it all over again. You will eventually get really good at this “test, adjust and see” process and can do 2 or 3 at a time but you will know when you ready for it. For now stick to one at a time until you test it like crazy!
These are just some of the basic points in social marketing that are key to your success as an entrepreneur.
Let’s keep the conversation going…share your experience or questions on the Who, What and How in your social marketing strategy….
Kevin Jimeno a social entrepreneur who guides you through developing a Business Plan focused on Return on Investment for the New Social Consumer.
