How to Pick the right

“How do I keep up with marketing on all the different social media sites?” It’s one of the most common questions we get at Book More Brides.

The answer: not very well.

As a small business, it’s too much to take on all the social media marketing opportunities available.  

You don’t have the resources or brain power, so just let that thought go. Focus on getting good at ONE social media site where your clients actually hang out.  It’s way more rewarding in terms of time and finances.

It’s important to pick your battles carefully.  Too many choices is almost always not all it’s cracked up to be.  Think about it.  Too many choices on a menu can be overwhelming.

It’s fine if you’re in a diner and you’re going to order no matter what because you’re there to eat, right?  When this happens I usually just give up and order my fall back: a bacon cheeseburger.

Too many choices when it comes to your marketing means you’re likely to do NONE at all.

At least, not well. So first things first.

5 Steps to Social Media Nirvana

#1 – Be clear about who you want to connect with your social media content.  

Remember, not all social media sites attract the same demographics and work the same as a marketing channel. Don’t go fishing in the desert.

#2 – Decide how many social media channels can you reasonably handle.  

Don’t kid yourself here.  I’m talking about implementing a real, consistent strategy, not just random posting or auto-vomiting your content with zero interaction onto multiple sites.

#3 – Determine your content strategy.

Now what will be your content strategy to attract brides and grooms?  Will you be sharing your blog?  Will you be engaging conversation or networking?  Will you promote your business and will you throw some cash behind it?

Hopefully all of the above.  About now you can see how hard it would be to do this right on multiple social media sites.

#4 – Automate and systemize.

What tools or apps will you be using to make your social media posting as easy as possible?  There are plenty of free or paid tools to assist you with social media posting.  Give a few a whirl before you commit to one.

#5 – Track your results.

How will you measure your results?  Having some kind of analytics is critical to understand what’s working and what’s wasting your time and money on social media.

I can’t tell you how many businesses we’ve consulted with who have skipped this step and have clue zero about what’s actually working for them.

If you find out you’re not getting results, it’s time to either change your tactics or maybe you’re using the wrong channel.  Perhaps it’s time to break up with MySpace!

Look, I know how tempting the hot new social media site can be.  I love the shiny new object as much as the next person, but I also know I’m highly distractible and need to focus on the path ahead or I’ll get nowhere fast.

Do yourself a favor and consider how well you are using the social media that you currently engage in before heading to greener pastures.

What social media is working for you?  Which one did you find to be a bust?