Whether you’re doing your own social media marketing or using a professional to do it for you, here is a “must read” article, 5 Steps to a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy. The key word is “strategy,” and the questions are: What is your message? Who is your target audience? What are you trying to accomplish? How will you measure the results (ROI)?

So you have a blog and a social media presence (Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn). What metrics are you using to measure the success of your efforts? According to Business.com in a Benchmark Study (which is cited in an article entitled The Power of Blogs & Social Media) the most popular metrics used to measure B2B Social Media Success are:

- Website Traffic – 68%B
- Brand Awareness – 61%
- Engagement with Prospects – 60%
- Engagement with Customers – 52%
- Brand Reputation – 47%
- Prospect Lead Quality – 40%
- Revenue – 38%
- Prospect Lead Volume – 37%
- Useful Product Feedback – 26%

In order to determine the ROI you’re getting out of your blog and social media efforts you will have to decide which metrics are most important to you and determine a clear way to measure the success or failure of your efforts.

Here is useful article…self-explanatory: 50 Power Twitter Tips. My favorites are:

• Don’t read EVERY tweet. It’s perfectly okay. You have permission.
• Follow anyone who follows you (and unfollow spammers/jerks).
• Promote other people 12x to every 1 self-promotional tweet.
• Build lists to watch people who matter to you more closely.
• Retweet the good stuff from others. Sharing is caring.
• Set an egg timer. Twitter is addictive.

Method LLC is an established company dedicated to helping businesses succeed by matching companies with appropriate telecommunication and technology to maximize efficiency and cut costs.  WWWC recently helped Method rebrand their company by designing a new logo, recreating the company website, and developing marketing materials for use both on and off the web.

Since Method LLC focuses on the efficient use of communication and technology, WWWC redesigned the logo and brand using timeless designs with bold simplistic style.  The new blue logo emphasizes efficiency and focus, giving consumers an immediate sense of the company’s strength and dedication.  “Our web design team incorporated the same sense of focus and efficiency into the design of the website, using blues and grays to balance color and shape in order to create a website that successfully reflects the focus and drive of this trusted company,” explained Bob Savar, President of WWWC.

“To complete Method’s re-branding,” continued Savar, “we took the new logo and designed bold new marketing materials with redesigned business cards, letterheads, and digital graphics and templates especially designed for print materials. Essentially we’ve created a package that gives Method the tools they need to engage both new and existing clients well into the future.”

http://www.methodllc.com

This is the third and final article in this series of articles entitled “Making Sales through Social Media Marketing.”

The best thing about social media sites is that they are accessed by a large audience. Social media marketing can be used effectively to build links for the site, manage online reputation of the company, and even increase awareness and visibility of the site.

Building a profile on social media marketing sites will help the search engines, and ultimately the customers, “find” the business.  The profile should tell readers about the business owner and the products/services, with links to the business site.

Build Brand

Entrepreneurs and business owners must brand and attach themselves to a specific topic, making them the experts. Writing articles and posting them on blogs in these social networking sites can help others become aware of the business’ products and services.  By contributing to these sites, the business is branding itself.  The key is to use a soft sell approach.

Once business owners establish the credibility and expertise, customers’ belief in whatever products or service the company offers will follow. The business will then make the sale.

To illustrate:  A house owner would not hire a plumber to paint his house, but he may ask the plumber to recommend a good painter if the plumber has a good reputation.  This is an example of offline social networking.

Anyone who expects to achieve immediate results in the form of sales by engaging in social media marketing will be in for a disappointment.  A tweet will not make phones ring, make a customer walk through the door, or fill out an order form on the website, although this may happen in some lucky situations.  If someone becomes a fan of a business fan page on Facebook today, it doesn’t mean this fan is going to buy the company’s product or service tomorrow. Having a website doesn’t mean people will automatically visit it. The key is to understand that social media marketing can be an effective marketing strategy. But first the business owner has to determine the available resources, decide on which marketing methods are currently working and which are not, and know where competitors and potential clients are hanging out online.

To sum up…social media marketing cannot be taken for granted.  Social media marketing has a huge upside potential to boost sales if used properly and executed effectively.