In part two of this series, TourismTattler asks some pertinent questions that should be answered before embarking on a social media journey. Part 1 of this series can be read here.
Introduction
Before we set off on our journey from a business point of view we need to realize that we are dealing with two major factors affecting our success rates.
First of all, it is important to realize that social media marketing is based on long term branding – to market engagement, this doesn’t mean that you can’t campaign for a specific product, but it does mean that you can’t raid the metaphorically placed cookie jar in a way that is not accepted by your target audience. Quick killings can be made, but have to be dealt with responsibly “and importantly” with the right amount of support.
Secondly, you are not alone here, there are no barriers for others to compete and challenge your brand. Known as “Digital Disruption” this affects your social market-share and ROI. What stands against this is your superior knowledge of your audience, the superior methods you use to engage your audience, and the superior technology you use to communicate and process information.
So let’s begin!
Famous Quote: Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible – Saint Francis of Asissi.
Step 1
Firstly, we are not going to be talking about what platforms and technological solutions there are, or that your business should use or be on because that relies entirely on the kind of products you have and the platforms they are suited for. Instead, everyone starting from this point has to ask and answer these four basic questions:
- What do you want to gain and obtain from social media?
- What does your business offer that people would want to discuss?
The easiest thing to do at this point is to discuss solutions, however, we really want to obtain knowledge and information on a variety of subjects before this becomes relevant.
At the outset, it is vital to start with a clear picture of what your business looks like socially. You need to think about what interest you would like to gain and how you envisage that your target audience wants to discuss about it. A good way to at first implement this is to talk with your nearest colleagues and your management team (don’t contact any of your audience or clients at this time).
Move on to the following questions and again answer them using the same completion method that you used previously:
- What does your present business model look like and how adaptable is it operationally towards social media marketing?
- What channels do you presently sell through.
- How do they support social media or vice versa how are they supported by social media?
Completing this will give you an idea about how in general terms your business is at present ready to engage social media. Write down your answers and store them in a document; your findings present a fresh and perfect outlook from which to start.
Journey of Discovery
In Part 3 of this series, we’ll focus our attention on people behaviour. We’ll start researching our audiences and prepare to set our social media marketing goals and objectives.
If you have any questions, leave a comment below.
