Social Cindy has been busy lately. We are building 9 new websites and we have given several presentations about social media over the past couple of months. I think the one that was the most fun was talking to the Online Marketing Class at IRC Vero Beach. It is an honor that people ask us to share what we do with them.
For those of you who aren’t ready to hire us, the question of how to build a social media plan is one I thought I could give you some answers to here in our blog. This is not a thorough step by step process, if you need that, read this first, then leave me a comment and I will make something more detailed for you depending upon your needs.
If you are one of the amazing students at Indian River College here in Vero, my number is on the website here, if you need help, give us a call.
How to build a Social Media Campaign:
- First, decide who your target audience will be:
- Example: Are businesses your target?
- Is your audience interested in a sport?
- What is your target demographic?
Choose a name for your Blog or Website that has something to do with your topic or interest.
- If you want to build a blog about cookies, naming the blog “Cindy Fletcher” is not going to help people find you. A blog title such as “Cookies by Cindy” will do much better. People always want to use their names or something really “catchy”, but remember that you must think about what words people will be using in their search. If they are trying to find a great cookie recipe, they won’t be searching for your name but will be searching for great cookie recipes.
Build a visually pleasing Website or Blog. We prefer to use “WordPress”, but there are many sites available.
- It doesn’t have to be full of fancy effects. But, it needs to be visually pleasing, easy to navigate, and show your contact information right up-front. And, it is so important to use categories and tags on all of your blog or web posts.
Search engines will scan your site and blog posts and it’s important to make it easy for them to know what you are all about. My posts will often have several categories, as they will have information that applies to more than one subject. What are categories? They are words or a combination of words that clearly tell the search engines what your blog post is about. For example this post will probably have the “Social Cindy” blog as a category, as well as “social media” as a category. I will probably use Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube as categories as well because I am discussing all of these things in this blog post.
Pick Three Major Social Media Outlets to start with:
1. Blogs with Key Words
2. Facebook Pages
3. Twitter or Pinterest
4. OR for your project would a series of YouTube videos be more engaging?
Building a Content Calendar
Those who don’t plan, plan to fail. Even if your plan goes off in some other direction you are planning for success. Your plan does not have to be “set in stone” or rigid. In fact, it is important that it be flexible due to directional changes and, most importantly, you will need to change your content if you do not get the results that you want.
1. What should you write about? Don’t be too serious about this. Just because I do social media, that’s not all I am interested in. And, if I blog about something a little different, I could attract someone new.
2. Content rules. We need to think about how we build our content as it will affect everything.
3. The most important thing with a blog or website is to get people to know, like and trust you…TRUST being the primary keyword.
4. Make time to listen.
5. Put something fun and whimsical into your content calendar
6. Pick photos that match your content; “visual” is important online
You will need content that builds trust and it is:
1. Educational
2. Valuable
3. Entertaining
4. Testimonials
5. Videos
Remember, you can curate from other sources. Not every single post has to be original, find things you think are interesting and use them. Just be careful to credit those sources, put contents in quotes and include a link to their site at the end or within your posts
Engage but don’t sell!
1. Use the Blog posts to tell a story about you or your company
2. Facebook posts, to once again engage
3. Run contests
4. Ask questions
5. Solicit involvement and post
6. Create YouTube videos
FAQ’s: People love being able to read answers to questions they might have and it is simple and direct without searching for content. Also, it is something you can update regularly
Success stories: It is really important to use these, as well as introduce yourself by telling a 30 second success story.
Why should you blog?
1. Websites that blog get 50% more visitors
2. Embrace being a publisher of content
3. Build momentum and create with intent
4. Speak in a “human” voice
5. Share or solve but, again, don’t sell
6. Do something unexpected
7. Play to your strengths
What makes good content?
In the case of the Green Home project, I would suggest:
A video diary of the process
How the home was originally conceived and designed
Why build a green home?
What makes it different or special?
Photos – lots of photos! They tell a visual “story”
Hold events there and create momentum, as well as invite other members of the community to participate.
What are your ideas?
Don’t be afraid to post unexpected yet relevant information….a really good idea…
Vocabulary:
SEO: Search Engine Optimization means using various internet resources to get your site noticed. Make certain your blog titles reflect your content, but are catchy and short
Make a point of seeking out other blogs, offer constructive, positive comments and link them to your site or social media
Bill, can tell you more (Does more more information need to be inserted here?)
Keywords: Words that people may use to search for information you have using various search engines
Examples: Homes, green homes, energy efficient homes, green homes in Vero Beach, Sheriff’s department, news in Vero Beach, charities supported by the Sheriff’s in Vero Beach, events in Vero Beach, what Sherriff’s do
Blog: Think of it like an online diary or newspaper – it’s a way to put so many keywords into one place.
Example: “Social Cindy” is a national organization that promotes small companies via blog posts, our Facebook page (links inserted here), LinkedIN and Twitter. (links to LinkedIN and Twitter inserted here)
Social Cindy.com has been in the online marketing business for several years now and we have found social media to be an effective tool for boosting the Google placement of the websites we build. Facebook pages only enhance the Google authority of our sites, and we often use our Social Cindy Pinterest page to go out and meet people who would not normally come to our www.socialcindy.com website.
So that’s all I can think of right now. Like I said before, if you need more, just ask me. My name is Social Cindy for a reason, I am, my staff is , easy to talk to and social. We like what we do, and we don’t mind sharing.
Over and out..
Social Cindy
#Online-Marketing
