Social Media Strategy 101

Marketing Grader is the newest tool in HubSpot’s marketing arsenal; just enter your website URL and get a report containing dozens of tips on improving your marketing strategy. Much of what the tool recommends is what we recommend, especially regarding social media. Here are five tips for getting started.

5. StumbleUpon is your new best friend

Marketers are always nattering on about “sharing valuable content” via social media (especially Twitter). But unless you’re a large corporation with lots of people willing and able to write, you’re not going to have enough content to constantly be sharing.

Which is where StumbleUpon comes in. Just tell StumbleUpon what you like (everything from marketing to design to shoes to food...), and every time you hit the Stumble button, you are shown related web pages, photos, videos, and more. You can further refine your topics by hitting a “Like” or “Dislike” button to give StumbleUpon an even better idea of what you want to see.

StumbleUpon is a lifesaver when it comes to sharing content. Just Stumble until you find something industry-related and interesting, and share it with your followers!

4. Join the conversation

Sharing links to content is great, but social media should be a two-way conversation. Ask and answer questions (of your followers and the people you follow), join in conversations, and provide value beyond shared links. Be the same person you are online as you are offline, and never be afraid of a little humor.

3. Share links to landing pages

Social media can be a lead generation tool, too. Link to and promote your whitepapers, newsletters, and other lead generation mechanisms. If your followers come to expect quality content from you, they’re more likely to download your offers.

2. Balance between educational and promotional

People become your fans or followers because they want to know how you can solve their problem — not about how awesome you are. Be careful not to self-promote too often.

What’s a good balance? In his “Secrets to Social Media Enchantment” webinar, social media fanatic Guy Kawasaki suggests a ratio of one self-promotional post for every five educational ones.

Promote yourself and your services, but make sure to do it in terms of helping others, instead of yourself.

1. Measure, measure, measure

How can you know if your social media strategy is successful if you don’t track interaction?

• Use a link shortener like bit.ly to keep track of your most popular social media posts.
• Use your Facebook page’s Insights tab to see at what times most people visit your page, which posts get the most interaction, and other good information.
• Use a tool like HootSuite to monitor mentions and keep up with conversations on multiple social media platforms.

What’s your grade?

Want to see how your marketing strategy (including social media) is doing? Head over to the Marketing Grader to get your score, as well as tips on how to improve.

Put it all together

Social media is just one way to generate leads online. Download Digett’s Marketing Guide to Growth to learn how you can increase your online sales with Internet marketing in six months.

Get the whitepaper!

[Image: Michael 1952]