Why do I need a social networking strategy?

The importance of having a social strategy in place

In social networking for business, a strategy is the most important component to making it to your “Z”.  Whether it may be better customer service, driving traffic to your Web site or store, or just plain bringing in more income, your strategy is your road map to success.  

Diving right in without knowing where you want to go or how you are going to get there can not only look unprofessional, but can also leave you frustrated with a lot of lost time.

The first thing to consider when coming up with your social-networking strategy is your ultimate goal. Do you simply just want a presence online?  Do you want to be able to better communicate with your clients? Or do you want to drive traffic to your Web site?  Of course these are not the only reasons, but whatever your reason may be your strategy should get you the results you desire.  Think about how you want to communicate with your clients, how you would like to increase your branding, or if you are simply trying to bring in more clientele.  Each of these items are truly different and each piece needs to be tacked with its own strategy.

Then consider your target demographic.  Are they old or young? Are they local, national, or international?  Who is your competition going after?  These are very important things to consider when determining your target demographic.

First of you need to know if your target demographic is online and if they are, where they are and how to reach them.  There are thousands of social networking websites around the globe and the popularity of these sites vary much from country to country.  Additionally, there are social networking websites that cater to the general public such as Facebook and Twitter, those that cater to businesses such as Vator.tv and LinkedIn, and even video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.  Being on the right sites is a major step towards reaching your ultimate goal.

Even after the profiles have been implemented, the strategy should not end there, management is a key aspect for the continuation of positive results.  Regularly sharing links and news, posting blogs, updating specials, campaigns and giveaways are all very important and although time consuming can generate a lot of traffic and revenue when done correctly.  Additionally, researching new social networking websites that may be a good fit for your target market should be done on a regular basis and will help to keep you working towards your goals.

So now don’t waste any more time trying to find a teenager to build you a Facebook page just because you hear social networking is the new thing and they have a Facebook page.  There is a very necessary understanding of business and marketing needed to create a good social networking strategy to use for business and should not be overlooked, otherwise your roadway to success will ultimately hit a roadblock.  Invest some time in finding the right path to reach your social networking for business goals, learn the correct process and etiquette, and above all, follow your strategy to the end. 

(Image source: neuro-it.net)