• by Brian Spero , October 10, 2013

It's no secret that organizations around the world are making room in marketing budgets for social media, motivated by the opportunity to increase brand exposure, build stronger consumer relationships, and tap into a sustainable stream of qualified leads and referral traffic. If your business is joining the majority in launching into social media marketing or is bringing new focus and commitment to an existing campaign, consider these six strategies and tips for optimizing the impact of your efforts.

1. Get hyper-focused

In order to move forward with an effective campaign, it's often necessary to take a step back, reset the focus, and cement a detailed strategy inspired by your core branding message and marketing mission. From identifying your target audience and establishing a code of communication to assigning appropriate staff and putting in place software solutions to help execute and administrate your activities, a detailed plan and publishing schedule are essential to minimizing missteps that derail momentum.

2. Think quality and value

In social media marketing, quality content is your leading ally for growing an expansive following over which you hold sway. The most effective communications are well-written and contain relevant pieces of information that provide takeaway value. By supplying entertaining material that helps readers become more informed, you establish trust, build business relationships, and inspire them to promote your content by sharing it with their online community.

3. Underline social

It's important to remember while the social landscape holds green marketing pastures, the user expectation is geared more toward interaction than straight sales. From taking a friendlier tone to embracing one-on-one and group interplay and participating in the ongoing conversation, the social aspect can help you build a community of loyal customers and collaborators. No matter which platforms you choose to utilize, your marketing mission will be best served when you effectively use channels in the vein they were intended.

4. Mix in multimedia

A proven method for injecting a dynamic element to your social media content is through utilizing visual media that make a deeper and more immediate impact on the online audience. Channels such as YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest lend themselves to diverse content marketing strategies that support the mission of providing quality content with tangible value, while also resulting in wider (and potentially viral) exposure and increased referral traffic.

5. Dig deeper into data

Among the unmistakable advantages of engaging consumers via social media is the opportunity to learn from them through your interactions. Social media campaigns rely heavily on testing and adjustment based on analytics that provide insight --  not only into your most effective content and channels, but also regarding the habits and interests of your following. Data culled through social media analytics allows you to deliver tailored content, communications, and offers to targeted groups, and to continually cultivate the most proficient paths to conversion.

6. Measure ROI 

Unlike Newton's Law, actions on social media result in uneven results. While it's a goal to grow your audience and run an impactful campaign, it's important to measure the end result of individual initiatives. More than a boost in traffic boost, you want to connect with best customers that are genuinely interested and most likely to invest in your products or services. By monitoring and isolating the effect of your campaigns, in addition to creating a system of grading that takes into account peripheral benefits (such as brand recognition and reputations, along with traffic and conversions), you can maximize ROI through more efficient resource allocation.

7. Closing

As a growing majority jump on the social media bandwagon, businesses must up their game in order to keep pace with the competition. By having a plan, cultivating best practices, and continually analyzing and adjusting efforts, you can tap into the desirable benefits of social media.

What other tips can you suggest to improve social?