When I say Social Media, what comes into your mind? Social media is an all-encompassing term that means different things to different people. For local business owners, social media marketing’s end result should be to generate leads. However, many are under the impression that posting and sharing is all you need to do.
To the contrary, there are numerous specific components to successful social media and you need to cover all the bases in order to be truly successful.
The game never turns out like you think it’s going to.
Social is a medium that attracts certain types of customers and if your customers are that type, you need to participate or your competitor will. Many business owners and managers aren’t regular users of social media and say, “I understand how it works.” But do you…really?
It’s dangerous to treat social media as less important than other types of marketing and advertising. In these days of transition, where every medium is shifting and morphing, your assumptions may come back to bite you. Everyone knows that the game isn’t over until the last out, so don’t be lulled into a false sense of security that this marketing game will turn out the way you think it will.
Cover ALL Your Bases in Social Media
It’s mega-important to recognize there are three very different components that require different skills in social media. Discerning the differences between these three plays will help you hire the right people and keep tabs on their efforts.
1. Social Media Marketing
The ideal person for this job must possess knowledge of and experience with marketing and branding. They must be able to tell stories well, create content for your blog and social media channels, and engage would-be customers.
A true social media marketer sets goals, defines and implements strategies, measures their efforts and establishes ROI. The result is highly-targeted traffic to your website.
2. Lead Generation and Conversion Optimization
The highly-targeted traffic to your website needs a place to go and someone to oversee the optimization of those visits. If you don’t have this segment in your overall social media venture then all your other efforts will be for naught.
Finding the ideal person for lead generation and conversion optimization a tricky venture. They need to be sales savvy and at the same time, be able to understand and analyze the data that comes from your marketing efforts in order to enhance future results.
They also must have a firm grasp on how to build attractive landing pages that drive leads further down the sales funnel. It’s essential that they can clearly define a buyers’ journey in order to meet them every step of they way with content and calls to action.
3. Social Selling
Salespeople who possess a talent for leveraging social media to network and gain referrals do not grow on trees. There is no “farm team” from which to grow your bullpen. Social Selling takes a serious commitment from management to develop processes and provide ongoing training.
In automotive retail, salespeople have the opportunity to connect, converse and ultimately convert referrals into buyers. But for anyone who manages salespeople, you know that turning some salespeople loose on social media is like expecting a wolverine to be a good house pet.
Salespeople need to know what makes them unique; what differentiates them from all the others out there. This only happens with superior leadership, good training and ongoing support.
Play Your Game Well and Win
Structuring your social media team well does pay off. People and processes can turn losers into contenders. Incorporating these three winning plays into your overall social media action plan sets your business up for victory. Let’s play ball!