The Three D's of Social Media Marketing | Business 2 Community

My Smallbizlady brand has a global reach of over 200,000 people across my blog, email list, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. One of the most popular questions I am asked is, ?How did you build one of the fastest growing small business brands on the Internet?? The short answer is that I worked extremely hard to position myself as a valuable resource to my target customer. I created a social media platform where people who wanted to start or reinvent a small business found me. When I started out, my goal was to make sure my first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, was a big success. As the brand grew, however, not only did the book become a best-seller, but the brand positioned me as national small business expert and social media strategist.

And you can do it too.

If you want to be a thought-leader in your industry, you must use the HELP mantra:

• Help others
• Engage with your readers and fans
• Listen to your audience and competitors
• Promote yourself

Social media success is all about ?give to get.? You should look for ways to be helpful to you new contacts first, and then when the time is right, you can pitch your business.

This is how I launched my business. Before you do anything, you need to develop a social media strategy.

Develop your content strategy: Currency on the Internet these days is content. You must attract your niche target audience with great content. You can write blogs, produce podcasts or audio interviews, or record quick videos as signature content. As a TV producer by training, trust me when I write this: do not have videos longer than three minutes on the Internet. Less really is more. Good content solves a problem for a potential customer. You want to give them the ?what? and the ?why? and sell them on how you can fix it. Lead off with content ? you need to start developing your content at least three months before your launch online.

Design your online brand: It doesn?t make sense to use social media if you do not have a website, or some sort of online presence. Do that first! I suggest you use your personal name in your social media profiles. People do business with people they like, know and trust. This is why you should develop a personal social media brand. Do not use your corporate logo as your social media profile picture, except for your Facebook fan page. If you are a solopreneur, use a professional head shot as your brand.

Deliver your message consistently: I have used social media daily, Monday through Friday, for the last three years. I share quality content 20 to 25 times a day. I budget 90 minutes a day for social media marketing. I use hootsuite.com to share my content and the content of others each day. I publish content on my blog three to five times a week. When I first started, I published new blog posts every Monday and Thursday. I also publish at the same time every day.

If you want to be a key influencer in your industry, the best way to demonstrate your expertise is through blogging and social media marketing. Just do it with purpose. Have goals and a strategy. Your website is your front door. Make sure it is ready to greet your audience with a polished online brand and snappy tagline. Craft your message for a specific customer. Don?t be afraid to use a virtual assistant to maintain your social media marketing efforts. Consistency is key in social media.

Do you have any more D?s to add to the list?

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson?s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

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