Tips to Build Your Social Media Marketing Toolbox
When I was a kid, my dad always carried a toolbox in his truck. It was his go-to, for everything. He could fix my bike, repair his truck engine, patch up my skinned knees with bandages – whatever was required. He built up that toolbox by knowing just what he needed any time during his day.
As a social media marketer, you should build your toolbox the same way.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to construct your toolbox. You’ll add some items, purge others. (Dad didn’t need the bike repair stuff once I got to college!) When you assess what works for you and what doesn’t, what new things you find and old things you’ve outgrown, your toolbox will grow with you.
It’s ever-changing – but here are a few tips for getting yours stocked up for anything. These are big elements, must-haves to consider before you even think about smaller things such as apps and other online tools.
-
Install a monitor
No, I don’t mean a big computer screen. I’m talking about a site monitor, such as Lucky Orange ($10-$100), which keeps track of who visits your site. Their metrics will reveal how long a visitor stays, the site through which they accessed your page, and where in the world they are.
Lucky Orange can also show you real-time or recorded video of a visitor’s time spent on your site.
What’s it worth?: Know who is there, where they’re looking, and when they’re leaving. Data you get from Lucky Orange will direct you to what works well – and what needs attention.
-
Write a blog
Rather than give all your great images to Facebook, why not incorporate them on your own blog?
This page ought to be the epicenter of all you do. Constant publishing of quality content is king. It’s the most natural way to build your search engine optimization, too. I recommend your own domain, rather than a host site. Remember to include sharing buttons for the social media you use.
What’s it worth?: Engage, connect, and comment – reaching out to other bloggers in your genre creates credibility and builds a base of connections that gets infinitely more valuable.
-
Devise a plan
Posting and hoping is no way to live. It’s important not to have an equal presence on all social media, but to know which platforms connect with your business. What are your goals? How will you measure your performance toward those goals? How much time a day should be devoted to chasing those goals?
Know the rules, get familiar with the culture of each platform, and make the best use of your time resources when you reach out to those followers.
What’s it worth?: Your best-laid plan will falter with unreliable or slow Internet. Fiber-optic Internet weighs in as a reliable option and the prices are generally budget-friendly.
This post is provided by Michelle Smith. Michelle is a freelance writer with a focus on social media and marketing. She can be found typing away on her laptop in sunny Boca Raton, Florida. Michelle welcomes your feedback at [email protected]
Social Media No To The Quo
Great points, Kyle! More on the blog piece: a blog is a great tool to have not just for social media, but as part of your company’s sales funnel. You can use it as a reason to update Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or whatever other networks you’re focusing on. You can push out posts to keep in touch with people who take an interest through your RSS feed or your email list. And once people are on your site, you can grab data to find out more about which features are leading to sales and calls and which lead to bounces.
On top of that, any money that a company invests in a blog is an investment: it makes everything they’ve invested before more valuable. It builds on itself, as opposed to buying ad space somewhere for a limited time. Integrating a blog can make for big, lasting wins if you’re using it right.