Five Steps to Smart Social Media Marketing

The web and other media are flooded with information on how Social Media tools like Twitter and Facebook can enhance your marketing efforts. All this information can sometimes be overwhelming. Each article has something to add to the Social Media buzz and you are probably wondering if there's a simpler way. So, here it is! We have put together a five step plan that will help you indulge in Smart Social Media Marketing. Read on...

1. Don't spread yourself too thin: There are lot of Social Media sites out there. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Orkut, Meet The Boss, Ryze, Qapacity and the list can go on and on. When you are just starting out with Social Media Marketing, don't step into all of these. Instead select two or maximum, three Social Networking sites and focus on creating a strong network there.
   
2. Interact: Interact with your fans and members in the network. The aim is form a relationship and there can be no relationship without interaction and communication. Answer questions, offer to help whenever you can. Stay active in discussion threads and forums.
   
3. Be concise and clear: Don't post wordy sentences and status updates. One of the reasons Twitter's so popular is any update is limited to 140 characters. Social networking site is not the place to ramble on. Be crisp, and 'to-the-point' in all your exchanges.
   
4. Reuse content: Content creation takes time and effort. So, why under-utilize it by using it just once? Post your content across the various Social Media sites that you use. Reformat your content to suit the kind of Social Media that's in use. For example, you can extract the key pieces of a blog and make a presentation to be put up on SlideShare. Turn the presentation into a Video and add it on YouTube.
   
5. Use technology: Technology is the key to effectively managing Social Media Marketing. Smart use of technology will help you save time. For example, MindMatrix's marketing automation software programs are intelligent enough to link the file to its corresponding Social Media site. It automatically post videos on YouTube and presentations on SlideShare and Tweet about it as well! This means you can focus on more important things like content creation, while the mundane tasks are taken care of by technology.
   

Social Media Marketing is not difficult, but you need to you have a clear marketing strategy that accounts for the 5 above-mentioned areas, because they help you cut-out the noise and focus on marketing in the network.