It’s that time of year, when most resolve to do at least one thing to improve their lives this year. If you Google “Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions,” you’ll get lists that usually include: lose weight, save money, enjoy life, get more organized, help others and learn something new. The same can be applied to social marketing. We’ve developed a short list of common resolutions that will make for a healthier and happier 2013 for social marketers.
Lose Weight
It’s hard not to let your eyes be bigger than your stomach, especially in social. Every new app and every new tool can be so attractive! In 2013, social marketers should take a closer look at their social campaign goals and discern which tools their business is ready for and identify the ones that should be part of the a longer-term strategy. Taking a realistic approach and understanding the current limits of a business’ social program and mapping the growth from there is critical for expansion and success.
Small to mid-size businesses have to be the most mindful when it comes to social investment, so spend wisely. Part of doing so is knowing where to focus your dollars and efforts and understanding the difference between ‘need to have’ and ‘nice to have’ tools. A social program’s success doesn’t always come down to how much money a company has to spend more than it involves getting the most bang for your buck.
Save Money
With that in mind, saving money should be on a social marketer’s list of resolutions because social can be a place where a little goes a long way, or a lot goes nowhere. If you haven’t already done so, 2013 should be the year your brand researches and understands which social marketing software to implement so that the brand is best served. Make it your Q1 mission to understand where you want your business to thrive this year (is it video, contests, sweepstakes, etc.), and spend the rest of the year looking for and implementing the tool that provides the functionality and level of control you want in order to execute smart social campaigns.
Keep in mind that many SMMS providers rely on service contracts to boost revenue. While there are certainly instances that this may be beneficial, be sure to spend the time to understand where you can own your campaign and where you may want additional resources to help reach your goals. Doing so will help you trim the ‘fat’ for things you either don’t need or can’t take advantage of right now.
Get Organized
As mentioned above, social is a place where a small investment can thrive or a large investment can vaporize (or anything in between). That said, in 2013, take a step back and closely examine your marketing program and exactly how social fits into the mix. Then, get organized. Without organization, it’s almost guaranteed a social investment will result in some (or a lot) of waste – wasted time, resources and investment.
By getting organized, you as a social marketer can’t/won’t run the risk of getting lost in the details with everything social has to throw at you. Start by clearly outlining your goals for each campaign and the social tactics you want to use to get you there. Do not waste time in areas that pose very little return for the brand. In short, don’t do social for the sake of doing social. Be as smart as you can be and having a well-organized plan of attack is the place to start. There are many tools out there to help you accomplish this, such as Shoutlet’s Social Switchboard.
In short, Social Switchboard is a tool built to help marketers streamline social campaign activity. The first trigger-based campaign tool, Social Switchboard is a scheduler where content is set to ‘fire’ based on pre-determined criteria – date/time, and events – across a variety of social platforms. Incorporating a tool like this not only helps you organize a campaign, but it also takes the stress out of tracking every move and triggering the next step manually. And shouldn’t ‘reduce stress’ be towards the top of your resolutions list, too?
Learn Something New
If 2012 was any indication, social has a lot in store. We saw a lot of new tools take off last year– Pinterest and Instagram to name two – and social marketers clamored to make these tools work for them in social.
This year, resolve to learn about new tools and do your part in understanding how your business can benefit from them. But perhaps more importantly, understand which new tools don’t apply well to your brand…yet. Spend time only on the things that make sense, as there is no realistic way to do it all and do it all well. Knowing which new tools add value and executing a smart, well-thought-out campaign is the only way to make new tools worth your while.
What do you think? What other resolutions do you have for 2013? Tell us in the comments.