To see result with social media, you don’t need a social media strategy. You need a business strategy.
You don’t need to know everything there is to know about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and social apps. You don’t need to know how to schedule tweets and posts on multiple social networks all at once.
These aren’t real pain points. The key questions to decide your business strategy are.
To prove it, let’s take a recent example from a Rutgers University Mini-MBA on Social Media Marketing. Rutgers is one of the first universities in the country to offer an MBA in Social Media Marketing.
Here’s how to effectively overcome 5 real social media pain points.
1. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE: People at the Rutgers Mini-MBA program on Social Media Marketing represent a range. They come from leading companies or are entrepreneurs. They are people charged with delivering innovation and growth. When asked this question, answers came back like: “generate awareness, “create interest” and “increase sales.” Then someone said, “I want to achieve a year’s worth of sales in 3 months.” I thought: “Good luck with that.” But the answer stood out because it was so specific and clear. So, we focused on his business. This person then told us he was a beer distributor and his company was launching a beer called Leinenkugel. The launch would occur in the Northeast this July when beer seasonality was at its peak. It was a reach goal but definitely possible.
2, WHO DO YOU WANT TO ATTRACT: Most marketers describe their target in demographic (age, income, geography) and pyschographic (shared interests and values) terms. Because our beer distributor was so clear in his goal, he knew the exact bars, restaurants and events where he needed to make an impact. We found they all had a Facebook and Twitter presence. We found we could speak to them directly and geo-target beer drinkers at events in real time through tools like Twitter Search or identify brand advocates on Facebook through Booshaka. Our beer distributor was now creating a plan where he was not only able to describe his target; he knew their names.
3. HOW DO THEY FIND YOU: We looked at the Google Analytics of the company’s website. We could see through “Traffic Sources” the social network that were driving traffic to the website. As a result, we could see how the website could be used to help build relationships through social media, keywords that would drive traffic and where to spend time.
4. WHAT IS YOUR VALUE EXCHANGE: In social media, like in life, you have to give in order to get, especially for a new product launch. As the chart below shows, the #1 reason people are motivated to “Like” a brand on Facebook is to receive an offer or discount; the #2 reasons is if you show them some love, they will show their support in return. So, we considered sweepstakes, giveaways, coupons, all amplified by social sharing through a Facebook app called Wildfire.
5. WHAT ARE THE RESOURCES REOQUIRED: The plan was now taking shape. It was clear this would not involve much out of pocket costs; it would involve people’s time. Resources would have to be budgeted considering the manpower demands of launching a new beer. By dealing with this pain point. we now had a business strategy accountable to return on investment (ROI).
These are basic business questions. They are also the real social media pain points. When you spend time with these “pain points”, the right social media solutions usually reveal themselves.
I am fortunate to be among the great faculty on the Rutgers Mini-MBA program. I learn a lot from what others teach me.
If social media is a part of your plan, have you wrestled with these questions for your business? What do these 5 social media pain points prove to you?
