OK. So you’re on every social media platform going (well, almost). You tweet like a songbird, and you have more ‘Likes’ than a very likeable person on National Like Day. You blog about your new office décor, and the fancy espresso machine for clients. But is it making a difference where it really counts – your bottom line?
In the rush to capitalise on social media, many set sail only to find themselves adrift as others steamed ahead to markets new. If that’s you, time to get your social media sea legs with LPOSTM – the essential acronym for getting what you want out of your social media presence.
L is for listen. There are plenty of tools out there to help you listen in to your customers and find out what’s making them tick. Listen around your brand – where would you fit in to your customers’ activities? Where would your competitors?
P is for people. You might think your pre-school toys are aimed at pre-school kids, but let’s face it, they’re not doing their own Christmas shopping. Follow the money to find the spenders, and target them accordingly.
O is for objective. Why are you on social media? Because everyone else is? Sorry – but that’s not enough. If you sit down and think about what you really want to achieve – more sales, more reviews – then you’re halfway to achieving it, because you can focus your activities via a…
S is for strategy. A social media strategy, specifically. If you haven’t written one before, there are plenty of online resources to help you. Remember it’s all about defeating the enemy, so you can’t really go wrong with Sun Tzu’s Art of War. As long as you don’t take all of it literally.
T is for tools. There’s an abundance of social media tools out there to choose from, but don’t get carried away. The most important thing is what your customers want, and what your customers need – only then do you know which tools will work for you.
M is for measure. What’s the point of all your activity if you can’t say at the end of it, what it actually achieved for you? If you can’t say who, out of your followers, bought your products? If you can’t say whether weekends or evenings or weekdays were your most profitable times? Get analysing, and use the information to improve your activity.
We’ll add another S – get selling. Facebook commerce is becoming increasingly popular, and while some cast doubt on its effectiveness, surveys show that over a third of Twitter and Facebook users would buy from a retailer they trust directly from their social media sites. The key is to build trust – develop your reviews and recommends, and make it easier for fans to comment and Like through news feed.
Then, the social media sea is yours to control!