Social media marketing: avoid leaving out key steps

Social media now holds a place of its own among website managers and individuals in charge of the marketing operations of a business or organization. And although this is good news, there’s also a flip side. The nature of the phenomenon is such that it’s tempting to use these new tools to develop a strategy rather than considering the organization’s true objectives.

There are some basic steps to follow before one can start thinking about making a name for an organization in the media and on social networks such as Youtube, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

In my opinion, one must ensure that three very simple cornerstones are firmly anchored before going any further.

I have purposely streamlined the steps involved. Why? Because so many people are obsessed with step 3 that they forget all about steps 1 and 2, both of which are very important and most definitely prerequisites for step 3.

1.A well-structured formal content offer

This step isn’t all that exciting compared to social media presence, but in my experience, it’s the most crucial element when it comes to Web offer. It simply means having "a good website" with all the basics:

-A page that presents the organization’s message and explains what the organization is about and what makes it different.

-Precise calls for action that clearly let the user know what the organization expects of him should he wish to proceed further.

-A clearly-structured offer whose information structure respects, as best possible, the consumer’s decision-making process.

-Elements that reinforce the organization’s credibility and trustworthiness (certificates, labels, security features, etc.).

-A natural presence among organic search engine results.

-Tools for developing customer loyalty

-A minimum of performance measurement tools in order to understand what’s happening on your website (try Google Analytics; it’s free and extremely efficient)

-A design that’s not overly professional and that makes the user want to spend a few minutes on the website without getting nauseous.

In short, a site that’s appealing! A social media strategy (step 3) is useless if you skip this step, no matter how trivial it may seem, because step 1 is both the port of call, and your business plan taking shape.

2.Social content

The content of step 1 is crucial to converting a visitor to your website, but it’s not exactly suited to the social universe which is far less formal. It is therefore important to have content that spreads easily throughout the social networks. The most evident is a blog whose posts tend to "tell stories", thus addressing the user’s left brain. Also, a blog post is usually written by a human being who speaks in the first person and includes photos or videos. Then there’s Twittering, a Facebook fan page or a Flickr account. In any case, all such content is mobile (RSS, single link, integrated sharing tools, etc.) and fairs far better in the social media because of both the content itself and its style.

Without them, you can forget all about natural diffusion in social media!

There’s one key thing to remember though: it’s important to contextualize and link the formal content of step 1 with that of step 2. This is the crucial link that could render step 2 futile, or make it fun.

3.A social strategy

Finally, the step everyone’s eager to get to work on. Although this step is easy when combined with steps 1 and 2, it can be useless, and even harmful, if implemented on its own. Step 1 captures the value created by steps 1 and 2. Step 2 backs step 3. It’s as simple as that. Obviously, this step must be well planned, and you must aim for the right spaces, with the right spokespeople; you must also use the right tools and intervene only when necessary." In this ecosystem, there’s no single element of importance; they all work together to create value for your organization.