The big buzz in marketing these days is all about social networking and viral campaigns. In the past two days alone, I received about nine e-mails inviting me to various, educational seminars online.
And I’m sure you have been inundated with this same kind of information. It can be overwhelming…Do I start a Facebook page, set up a new blog or start using Twitter? What’s a tweet anyway?
Well, before you frantically start using the latest and greatest social networking sites, take a moment to review your business plan.
Keep it simple. Who are you trying to contact, what is your message and what benefits do you have to offer?
After all, if you just start using a tool just because you don’t want to miss out on the latest marketing technology or popular website, you can end up wasting a lot of time, effort and money…
So with this in mind, you may want to ask yourself these three questions prior to starting a big, new marketing campaign using the latest and greatest social networking tools:
- Is this tool going to help us reach our target customers with the appropriate message?
- Do we have valuable information to provide via these marketing venues?
- Are the resources available to regularly update and enhance our new, social marketing campaigns so we experience the best results?
If you answered “Yes” to these questions, then please move forward and plan how you are going to incorporate these social networking tools into your marketing and publicity plans.
But if you answered “No,” it may be best to do some more research and monitor news about the latest tools and trends. This way, you’ll be able to focus your efforts on the marketing activities that will give you the best results while still being aware of new tools and technologies that are available.
For additional information on social networking, please review the various articles on this site and visit www.blogger.com, www.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com, and www.twitter.com.
Check back later in the week for more PR and copywriting tips for your small business. In the meantime, feel free to write to me with your comments and questions. I’m here to help!
