Social Media Strategy: The Ignite Method

Measuring the success of social media can be a difficult task, and since the concept is relatively new to the business world most professionals are still discovering the benefits of using various social media outlets.  

Jim Tobin of Ignite Social Media, a social media agency, posted a recent article on his blog about the strategic planning behind the use of social media and how it can benefit your small company in big ways that are measurable.  

They call it the Ignite Method of Social Media Strategy Development!  Check out the 24-minute presentation he posted and his six steps to strategizing your social media efforts.

How to Create a Social Media Strategy from Jim Tobin on Vimeo.
 
The Ignite Method
1.  Discovery

2.  Community Analysis

3.  Goal Setting

4.  Engagement Plan

5.  Metrics and Measurement Strategy

6.  Training and Implementation 

Blogging as a Marketing Tool for Small Business

While the blogging world may seem to have a lingo of it's own, it's vital for small businesses to take the time to learn the value behind a well-kept blog.  Terms such as tagging, blogrolling, trackback or linkback, have become everyday language for those involved in the business of blogging. 

Tag: A tag in a blog is essentially a label that enables users to search and find blogs with that label.  By labeling your blogs you attract several different search topics and ultimately increase readership.  Small businesses should incorporate tags in their blog posts to optimize their search engine hits.  Tags can be in your blog or attached at the end of the post.  

Blog rolls: These are a list of other blog sites or networks that are linked from your site.  They can be useful for small companies to cross promote with others, support allies, philanthropies or even not-for-profit organizations.  Creating a blog roll on your site is a great public relations tool you can use to help build relationships and learn more about the competitors.  

Trackback: A trackback or linkback gives you the ability to comment on another's blog post within your own post and link directly to their page within your post.  Your comments about their post will also be added to the comments section of their post!  This is a great tool to help out a friend and also put YOUR link in front of your friend's readers.  

While this all may seem a little confusing, don't give up!  A well-maintained blog can enhance your brand image, add customer loyalty and increase your marketing reach through interaction with consumers!

Multiple Choice- C. Money: Topics in Marketing Assignment

While his blog may be short and sweet, it's true!  Getting your small business involved in social marketing is the key to succeeding, and at times can even help your company break through the clutter that is the ad world.

Multiple Choice- C. Money: Topics in Marketing Assignment: "These three tools; Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger can be used to market a small firm by: 1. Creating viral advertisement on social networkin..."

Three Social Marketing Tools for Small Firms

Facebook
In addition to being able to post events, updates and general information about your firm you can create discussion, buzz and measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategies with Facebook.  Develop pages for your groups and causes that allow consumers to interact with your organization.  Learn about the recent application known as Facebook Connect that allows consumers to connect all of their favorite Web sites to their personal Facebook page in this article written by Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg.

Twitter
Now, take the feature of posting your status on Facebook and create a new social marketing tool that surrounds this concept.  This is the essence of Twitter.  Small firms can you use Twitter to make announcements and post articles and news of interest to their clients.  Check out how smaller businesses are benefiting from using this effective marketing tool in this article by The New York Times!

Blogging

This is a fabulous medium that allows you to customize your brand on a more personal level than your Web site allows.  It serves as another interactive medium for consumers and gives you more marketing reach online without having to pay for expensive advertisements.  Read more about creating a blog for marketing purposes in this article posted by All Business.

Related articles

• http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/8439/How-to-Rock-Your-Facebook-Fan-Page-with-John-Haydon-InboundNow-3.aspx (hubspot.com)
• 3 must-see social marketing tools (holykaw.alltop.com)
• Listening to the Customer: The Forgotten Social Media Marketing Tool (marketingvox.com)