Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT

5 Tips on Maximizing Social Media ROI

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 by Bryan Anderson

Small businesses can have a hard time understanding the benefits of social media activity. There are still large companies that refuse to participate. But when statistics show a movement to digital communication and interaction, it would be foolish to ignore a segment of potential leads. How, then, can you invest in a platform seemingly still in its early stages of growth?

Here are a few tips you should consider when tackling and ultimately owning a digital identity among social media arenas:

Observe, and then engage. If you have no experience with social media, the first step is to get acquainted with the different platform quirks. You should get inside your consumers head and figure out if she "Likes" on Facebook, "Tweets" on Twitter, or "Follows" on LinkedIn. Once you know where your consumer is, then you know where your product or service should be.

Establish a performance baseline, define clear goals. Once you understand the inner-workings of a social network, the next step is to clearly define what you want to accomplish. Whether it's a certain number of leads, company mentions, or sales, make the commitment and stick with it. Similar to any traditional marketing strategy, you will gather helpful information along the way that will help fine tune your goals.

Social media needs a clear strategy - not randomness. If there's one big concern regarding social media marketing, it's the audience and its "jumpy" tendency. However, if you stand as a consistent and helpful participant then you will discover a base of loyal followers. These individuals will remind you that a strong, consistent message will build a company's brand one person at a time. This is why social media requires a great deal of patience.

Metrics mean nothing without context. Having 10,000 Twitter followers will do nothing if you can't get any genuine customer interaction. Although establishing these connections is one step in the process, ROI requires the next step: converting these social network participants into referrals or leads.

Social media takes time. This is where small businesses are scared away - why take time away from my product and company advancement? Social media is no doubt a long term investment. Even in reality, you can't just enter a conference or event and expect to make a sale after connecting with 10 people. There may be hesitation to commit any resources to social media, but businesses are slowly starting to realize the benefits of being where your target market frequents.

Check out these two articles for even more advice:

Social Media ROI for Small Business

Find Your Ideal Client Using Social Media

Until Next Time -

Matthew Hymel

Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support & Consulting
Rochester IT Support & Consulting