Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Plan

I am writing this article, not as an expert in social media but as a small business person, myself and as an advisor to small business owners and non-profit organizations that are wrestling with how, why and when to use the many social media tools now available.  For many months now, I have been attending seminars and webinars, reading articles, speaking with others more knowledgeable than myself and trying out the best known of the social media sites.  I have even participated in the planning of a couple of social media seminars put on by the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce.  At best, I am staying one lesson ahead of most of my clients.  Those of you who are true experts or are willing and able to hire a social media consultant, read no further.  For the rest of you, here is some non-technical advice and some things to consider:

Why Use Social Media?  What is the Value?

Social media provides a set of tools, which when used properly, can greatly leverage and enhance your other networking/word-of-mouth marketing and your  other internet marketing efforts.  It is cheaper, faster, and less geographically restrictive than our traditional networking activities.  It allows you to start with those relationships that you already have, from traditional networking, and to expand that network exponentially.  It does not replace the need for 1:1 and face-to-face communication. 

When to use Social Media? 

Like any other tool, social media can be very effective when used properly, or very dangerous when misused.  Improper use can damage your brand, erode relationships and create threats to your personal safety and security.  Many social media proponents will say that the best way to begin is to just start playing around with 1 or 2 and learn as you go.  I would caution users to spend some time learning in a safe environment before beginning to put a lot of information out there for all to see.  I would also caution against spending large amounts of time tinkering with social media without having some sense of where you are going with it (what are your goals) and how to get the most for your investment of time (what is your strategy).  For many of us, time is our most valuable commodity…so we want to invest it in a purposeful manner.

How to Use Social Media?

Social networking should be integrated into your overall marketing plan.  It can be both a tool to leverage and expand your word-of-mouth marketing/networking efforts and an important component of your internet marketing strategy.  The social media tools can also be used to enhance your market research.  The real return on investment comes from creating synergy with these other components of your marketing plan.  Simply linking, blogging, friending or tweeting for tweeting sake, is a waist of time and potentially annoying to other people.  Have a purpose and have that purpose tie into your overall marketing strategy.  Make sure that everything that you put out there in cyberspace supports your desired brand identity and does not detract from it.

The specific tools that will benefit your business the most and the best applications of those tools, will depend on the nature of your business, your target market, your specific marketing goals and the amount of time that you and/or others in your company have to invest.  Understanding how each of the tools works and their full range of features and capabilities, and observing how other similar businesses are using them can help you develop an initial starter plan.  As you become more comfortable using the tools, you will begin to see new, more creative possibilities and can continue to develop more sophisticated plans.  Your social media marketing plan, and overall marketing plan should never be static.  Let it continue to evolve and keep updating it as you go.  Keep in mind that the plan is never as important as the planning and that planning is a continuous process.

Good luck.  Enjoy the process but be purposeful in your use of these powerful communications tools.