Rarely if ever, do businesses sit down and plan a solid social media strategy for developing leads. Often it begins in one of two ways: 1) one person in the company who understands and enjoys new technology uses one or more platforms for the business. They get a Twitter account and just start tweeting without much thought for their target. Or, 2) someone specifically plans to gain business from a wide target but doesn’t understand how, so they follow the lead of the countless...

Rarely if ever, do businesses sit down and plan a solid social media strategy for developing leads. Often it begins in one of two ways: 1) one person in the company who understands and enjoys new technology uses one or more platforms for the business. They get a Twitter account and just start tweeting without much thought for their target. Or, 2) someone specifically plans to gain business from a wide target but doesn’t understand how, so they follow the lead of the countless Twits asking well connected strangers to retweet or simply send outrageous solicitations. Here are the foundational elements of an intelligent social media strategy.

B2B or B2C? The first thing to understand is whether your target is another business or a consumer? They use social media differently thus your approach must be focused on them. While big brands that target consumers are controlling the conversation with teams of staff, you can use similar strategies. E.g. If you only target a local geography you only need to be communicating during that time zone’s waking hours. If you are targeting businesses, you should determine the time of day you receive the most communication engagement or retweets. It shows who is interested in your subjects and when you should concentrate your communications. I mentioned some great Twitter tools in last week’s blog: Which Comes First: The Website or Social Media?

What Do They Do or Say Online? Are you paying attention to what your target does online? Are they playing Mafia Wars on Facebook or retweeting articles from the Wall Street Journal? Their behavior is key to what they are doing online and what you should consider as your vehicle to getting their attention. If they are clicking ads, figure out which ones, when and why. Maybe you need to reach them personally through conscious conversation.

PPC Advertising - PPC (pay per click) ads are still a great online strategy but they are no longer limited to just the search engines. Facebook has become a contender for your PPC advertising spend. You need to do both research and testing to determine the best solution for your targets. If you have never executed a PPC campaign either hire someone to help you do it right (we do this) or start slowly, be patient and monitor your conversions ruthlessly.

Don’t let the social media world confuse you. You can reach your targets if you have a plan. Being patient and planning for measurement milestones will help you determine what is working and what is not. Too many companies either pull a campaign too soon or let a poorly converting campaign linger longer than it should. Give it time, options and live and die by your statistics. The numbers don’t lie if you are watching the right ones.

Got Conversions?

• Are you getting the right leads?
• Are you getting enough of them?
• Are you keeping them on your site?
• Are they doing what you want them to when they're there?
  

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