Marketing in a digital age is exhilarating and daunting at the same time. It is enticing to be able to reach your market with a couple of keystrokes … and even more exciting that, often, using social media is free advertising.
Having “so many” options can also be a speedbump. Do I need to be on all of these platforms? How do I decide which ones I need?
Some of us are comfortable with technology and *get it* right away. Others of us may be a little more skeptical. So let us help! Keep reading to learn the logical starting places for identifying and selecting tools to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy.
Using Social Media: Aisle 1
You are probably wondering how social media and grocery shopping are alike. Well, here are my top two similarities:
1. Both are necessary evils. Very few of us actually enjoy the grocery store or pitching our product.
2. Fast and economical. You want to get out of the store in the fastest time, with the most groceries, and least expense. Ditto marketing – you want the most return with the least outlay.
Step 1: Stick to your Budget (aka Set Your Limits)
It might seem obvious that you don’t want to ~ and can’t ~ be on every social media platform. Spend even just a few minutes reading about social media marketing or watch morning TV to hear about the fastest-growing trend, and you’ll get that nagging feeling:
I don’t have that … I’m missing out.
Shake it off. 
Cutting through the din is not easy, but you have to do it. Otherwise, you’ll just keep feeling overwhelmed.
Step 2: Never Go to the Store without a List (aka Remember Your Goals)
Get out your marketing plan … the written one! If you don’t have a written plan, you MUST do that first.
You spent a lot of time building that marketing plan. Straying from your stated goals will undo all that hard work.
Using social media won’t help with all of your marketing goals, but it will support several. I recommend. Which of your goals relate to advertising? Focus on them.
Using Social Media: Aisle 2
We’ve pulled out our relevant goals, now we need to get to work. Get out fresh piece of paper (yes, I am old school) and describe who you are trying to reach.
Look at your target audience across several demographic variables: gender profession, age, and level of interaction with children and teens.
Then identify the medium you would use to reach them. Would you use print ads? television? radio? Internet Ads?
Turn that info into a table so you can analyze the data. On the left side list your target audience. Across the top, list each goal and the ad mediums that go with it. Then fill in the table by marking what medium matches the audience and the goal. Here is a sample based on my nonprofit, The Reading Tub.
Look at where most of your Xs are. That will help you narrow down which social media tools are the best fit for your marketing strategy. For example:
- Is your audience most likely attracted to print ads? Look at platforms like blogs, Facebook, or Twitter, which lend themselves to catchy slogans and special offers.
- Is your audience found on radio? Think Twitter, Google Plus, and Podcasts available through the iTunes (or similar) marketplace.
- Would you grab them with a television ad? Your audience is highly visual and your platform choices should reflect that. Pinterest, video platforms (YouTube, Vimeo), Tumblr, and Instagram are four possibilities.
These are just suggestions. None of the ideas is mutually exclusive. The ideas are just logical starting places for identifying and selecting tools, especially if you are still deciding how (notice I didn’t say if) to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy.
- Posting images on Facebook is a great way to increase engagement with your audience.
- You can send video in Tweets, too.
Just as you read the labels and comparison shop for groceries, you’ll want to do the same thing when selecting the best social media platforms for YOUR goals.
- Stick to the basics
- Buy only what you will use.
- Avoid those impulse purchases.