Creating Social Media Marketing Campaigns from the Ground Up

Are you one of thousands in the 90th percentile that are considered "social media lurkers" - observing, and maybe absorbing, but not participating? Dean Whitney's Zero to Social presentation with MITX this morning delineated the step-by-step "How To" for social media marketing wannabe's to navigate the social landscape.

Dean opened the program by sharing what NOT to do's by citing these examples:

• HabitatUK, a furniture and décor retailer, got consistent negative feedback after using misleading hashtags on their Twitter account (such as #iPhone on tweets for their new line of spring furniture) - Don't mislead! Whatever you say, be true to who your company is.
• Starman, played by Jeff Bridges in the 80's sci-fi, attempted to drive a car by doing exactly as his human companion did, and failed miserably - Don't try to copycat. Social media campaigns will be on all different levels for different kinds of businesses.

After noting the importance of creating an authentic and unique social media presence, Dean explained the steps to progressively doing so. He mentioned the 3 pillars of marketing: Content, SEO, and Social Networks, and then went into these 6 building blocks to construct a solid strategy:

1. Keywords/Phrases:
Think about keywords and phrases that are relevant to 1) Your company and product (or service) and 2) Influencers in that field. Dean referred to Jakob Nielsen's 1-9-90 Rule, and stressed the significance of reaching that top 10%; by considering keywords that those influencers and early adopters are likely to find, you increase awareness and interest.

2. Website/Blog:
With the attention of those influencers, however, comes the responsibility to remain consistent. Dean emphasized that creating consistent content with keywords and phrases will keep their attention and loyalty, and allow your site to be found in search engines more easily.

3. Conversion tools:
Using conversion tools such as HubSpot to tie lead intelligence to conversions is important in keeping track of efforts. He cited Google Analytics to measure web ROI as well.

4. Content Strategy:
Without a strategy, creating content for social media can seem daunting. Dean explained that keeping a live, steady stream of content is important to improve your SEO, as well as improve transparency & authenticity. He mentioned a few useful tools for keeping up with content output:

• Editorial calendar: To note all the various touch points with your audience, and schedule accordingly
• Social media operations matrix: To track the kinds of interactions you have on each social network - he cited the CMO's Guide to the Social Landscape as a good start
• Content prioritizing scorecard: As Dean stated, "One content idea can lead to many content artifacts...to generate more buzz"; keeping a scorecard of all the great content concepts can multiply your content by showing opportunities for cross-channel communications

5. Operations Plan:
Measure effectiveness of social networking efforts versus the time spent. For example, if one member of your team consistently gets better feedback (more re-Tweets, responses, etc.), increasing their time using social media would be worthwhile in the long-run. Dean later mentioned that without some sort of structure, people will become unproductive. He also stated using 60% of your networking time to promote others will build your network "like a 401k" and generate future support.

6. Content:
Once you've got your strategy, however, knowing what to say and how to say it can be puzzling for social media newbies. Dean outlined this practical and simple way of making content for your blog:

• Create a slideshow. Use any content you want with important tidbits for your audience. Guy Kawasaki's rule is great here: 10-20-30 (10 slides, 20 minutes of talk time, 30 type size).
• Make a YouTube video of you presenting your thoughts. There are plenty of chances to edit, so no pressure.
• Share the video throughout networks. Embed the file in your blog, tweet about your blog post, link your Facebook, etc.

"More people are being influenced by their peers that by brands or institutions" - as we see this with the increasing amount of people appreciating the value of social media campaigns, taking this information to heart is critical, to progressively gain momentum in the social media realm.

You can see Dean's full PowerPoint deck here:
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Still feel like you're a bit unclear about developing a social media campaign that can work for your business? Share your questions below - if we can't help you, we probably know someone who can!