You know that funny feeling you get sometimes that things aren't quite right, but you can't put your finger on the problem? If you've been feeling that way about your social media activity, there may be a good reason. You may need a strategic makeover. Here are some warning signs:
- You spend more time retweeting than tweeting original content. Promoting others is good, but it shouldn't be your top priority if you want measurable results. If your retweets exceed your tweets, your focus is in the wrong place.
- You spend day after day chatting with people who will NEVER purchase or promote your products or services. The most active people on Twitter are either paid to tweet or unemployed. Does either description fit your customer profile?
- Your Twitter community is filled with missing in action peeps (haven't tweeted in 30+ days) and spammers. The quality of your community has a direct effect on the results. Trying to engage people who aren't listening or don't care is futile.
- All of your tweets are sent from the Twitter web interface. Tweeting without tools is like pushing your car to your destination. You may arrive, but the return isn't worth the effort.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) is not part of your strategy. Natural search benefits are a hidden bonus in social media. If you plan carefully, your tweets will have a long tail instead of the typical life of one hour or less.
- Your Twitter activity has a terminal case of TWL (tweets without links.) Getting indexed by search engines won't send people to your website if you are not including links in your tweets. Tweet smart.
- You are trying to get results in 15 minutes per day. Enough already with the "get _______ quick" schemes. (You can fill in the blank.) It takes time to develop and execute an effective strategy.
- Your objective is to obtain followers and Klout. Seriously? What are you going to gain?
- Planning is not part of your social media marketing vocabulary. Would you start a mail or advertising campaign without carefully planning everything from beginning to return on investment (ROI)? Why would you leave your social media strategy to chance?
- You are not aggressively managing your community. The best results come from a great community. If you are not evaluating the quality of your network, how do you know whether you are talking to customers and prospects or an empty room?
Getting results from your social media strategy requires more than hit-and-run tweeting. You have to have a plan with specific objectives, execute it well, measure the results, and adjust as needed.
If you have warming signs to add, please list them in the comments. If you have questions, email me at [email protected].
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