Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Social Media Checklist



Here is the Social Media Checklist I use when speaking with clients.

1. What are you going to contribute?

a. Understand what type of content you have available (videos, pictures, blog, news feed, etc.) to share with your consumers.

b. Knowing this, deciding which social sites to establish your brand becomes much easier.

c. Have an objective in mind before you start (increase brand awareness, sales, web visits).

2. Using Twitter

a. Brand your Twitter page before you engage. Use your jpeg logo as your profile picture and design the background image accordingly. Do this before following or Tweeting people.

b. Twitter Search shows you what is being said about your brand/industry/competition. Setting up an RSS feed for key terms is a great way to keep track of the conversation.

c. Show your brand personality and be creative, nobody wants to listen to a dull voice on Twitter.

d. Twitter is a great medium. Use links in your messages (use a URL shrinker) to guide people to your blog, website or other sites you want your consumers to see.

3. Company blogs

a. Understand your strategy around Google Adwords and if possible use your major key search term as the title of the blog and as titles of your blog posts. This makes the blog very relevant in Google searches.

b. Do not be afraid of negative comments on your blog. It is an opportunity to resolve a problem that other consumers probably have.

c. Comment on other blogs in your industry or on blogs that discuss similar topics. Again, this helps make your blog very relevant in Google searches.

4. Keys to remember

a. There is no choice to participate in social media. Ignoring “the space for now” sends a message to consumers: you don’t know how to engage your consumers or you don’t care to engage your consumers. Either way it sends an empty message.

b. This is a commitment. Once you interact in this space you begin to build relationships and brand loyalty.

c. Managing several social media sites takes effort and these consumers expect you to be active and to show that you care. Ignoring some sites for too long can damage your brand equity.

d. Social Media is part of the overall company strategy.