This is the “Holy Trinity” of Advertising: Getting the message you want, transmitted to the ideal audience and having it hit right when you want it.
You can have a great commercial but buy a very small schedule or you put a commercial that speaks to Women fifty plus on the alternative rock station. It is easy to see how the same rules can apply to Social Media Marketing efforts. Understanding how your target audience (as defined by gender, age, and geography) uses Social Media will determine your goals and strategy.
SO….What is the “right message”? Who are the “right people”? And what exactly is the “right amount” of times?
PART I: The Right Message
Are you trying to attract tweens looking for a cell phone or mature females who want a manicure?
Before you begin the process or even if you have already started and feel lost, worry about Social Media tools/platforms last, not first. The tools will change. AOL once ruled the Cybersphere with chat rooms and just a short time ago I had to check MySpace 5 or 10 times a day. If you get hung up on tools, you’ll constantly be changing directions. A solid Marketing plan should include details about your business’ unique selling points, pricing strategy, the sales and distribution plan and your plans for advertising and promotions.
Put Goals in writing – written Goals equal success! “We have got to get on Twitter, Facebook and Blog” is not a goal or strategy, it is just a statement. Define what you want to accomplish. What is your purpose? In addition, when you define your goals, you manage your own expectations! You can also use analytical tools, demographics and psychographics to determine how to segment the market you are trying to reach.
Social Media is most unique and resourceful for delivering the right message because you control the message and can respond quickly and appropriately to any issue. I can send out a press release but when it is transformed to news, what a journalist does with it, can easily change my story.
-Can you describe your station in 140 characters or less?
-What is the point of your message?
-What type of listener are you talking to? Potential or Existing?
-What is your Relationship with listener?
-How will you humanize your station?
-How can you use influence lines instead of sell lines?
Just exactly how do you find your own voice online and figure out what to say, in other words what is your Socialality? Just like your Personality, your Socialality should reflect you or your brands unique attributes including behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental that give you character! The most beneficial use of Social Media is the combination of all the quirks and different things that give you or the people who work at your company character.
Picture this: You are at a Networking event talking to someone, they mention that there is going to be great weather for the NASCAR race this weekend. A few things could happen…your eyes might glaze over and you hear something that sounds like the teachers voice on Charlie Brown “waah wah wah, wah wah wah waah” or if you were to meet me, we would soon find out that I am a huge Motorhead!
Then the next person you talk to mentions that she used to work at her College Radio station. You relate to this because you used to work as an On-Air Radio Personality before getting into outside media sales.
The person after that also breeds Pomeranian-Chihuahuas. And then the next person drinks the same brand of Wine as you.
The point is we naturally filter the noise of our personalities with each other and find people we have common ground with.
Social Media does the same and is meant to be Social (a friendly gathering). Also realize that you can be Personable without being to Personal. Give a little of yourself…listen to what others say about themselves and then find out where similar interests lie.
Just to reiterate: Social media is an umbrella term that describes websites that connect individuals in some way. An indicating quality of social media is the user generated content. User Generated content comes from your experience, strengths and hopes.
It is OK that you are a film making, pirate radio, Pilate’s instructing, Parrot breeding, Phlebotomist!
NEXT WEEK THE RIGHT PEOPLE...who are they, how do we find them?
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