This is what a successful social media strategy looks like

Your social media marketing strategy is something your business can’t afford to get wrong. It is where you can expand your brand awareness and drive traffic in numbers not available to you anywhere else. For your social media strategy to work successfully for you, however, there are a few written in stone strategies that you must deploy right now.

• The first thing you need to focus on is your focus. Too many small businesses want to be everything to everyone. This strategy never works so it is best to focus on the core things that you do and build your brand awareness from there. Focus on those things that you do better than anyone else or less expensive than everyone else and then structure your content marketing accordingly.
• You need exceptional listening and communication skills. If you don’t have them, find people that do. You must listen to those that engage with your social media presence and open a dialogue with them. Tend to those negative comments right away and do whatever you can so that they are happy and will return. You must draw them in as a trusted friend. Show them how your company will solve a problem for them and/or improve their quality of life.
• Understand the importance of attracting those influencers in your industry who will help you spread the word and add instant credibility to your brand awareness. Focus on producing high quality written and video content that will be shared by your social media audience. This will compound the affect of your strategy as your audience begins to share your content with their social networks.
• When building your brand through your social media platforms, it is all about establishing trust and bringing added value into the lives of your visitors. Forget the hard sell but, instead, offer them solid reasons for visiting your site and buying what you have to sell. Your social media campaigns are a full time situation and you must be publishing and engaging with your audience on a regular, if not daily, basis. It is how you build momentum and value which, over the long run, establishes trust. People will always do business with companies they like and feel they can trust.

-Written by Kevin Sawyer