I feel that many business owners are treating marketing as a separate entity instead of viewing it as something that is built into their business rhythm. There’s a relatively new term that is being used interchangeably with social media and that’s Social Marketing. I don’t believe that they are one in the same. What is Social Marketing? Social media should not be your only form of marketing. All that aside, I feel like there’s an even bigger misconception about social marketing and social media. What’s the first word in Social Marketing? Social! (tweet this)There’s a phrase in the computer security world that “security should be built in, not bolted on.” The same can be said for social marketing. The social component should be built into the marketing plan and not bolted on when your client roster is running low. (tweet this) If your marketing plan consists of networking, blogging, newsletters, community involvement, and industry specific events then these are the things that you’re going to share on social media. Social media content isn’t an activity that you perform once a week where you ‘create’ content. The content for your social media presence should be shared throughout the week when you’re actually doing things. (tweet this) There’s definitely more static content that you will schedule once a week but for the most part, the really cool stuff that shows of your mission and your brand will come from all the great things you’re doing socially every day.
Ammie’s Assignment: Take a look at your calendar and take stock in where you’re being social this week. For every event, board meeting, or strategy session you attend I challenge you to create a social media post, blog post, or newsletter content from it. As always, comment below and let us know how you’re increasing your social marketing. Feel free to share links for social proof.
