6 Questions to Help You Define Your Social Media Business Strategy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 29, 2012 -- In my last blog, I provided an outline of some of the essential elements of infrastructure needed to allow you to implement a social media strategy . But before you run off and start blogging and tweeting randomly, it is best to first formulate a strategy, even if it is just a simple strategy. To define the best strategy for your business , I find it helpful to ask yourself a few pointed questions. The answers will help define your strategy….

1. What business are you in?

2. Who and where are your customers and what are their needs and wants?
3. What are your products and services , and what is your competitive advantage ?
4. What external influences could affect your business?
5. What are your short and long term goals?
6. How can your social media channels help you achieve your goals?

What business are you in?

How do you define the business you are in?; By products?, By services?, By the market or market segment? How about by the need? This is an important place to start so you can best define your business, your brand and how you will position your products and services for your customers? If you are not sure how to answer this, take a careful look at your products or services and your competitors, or ask your current customers how they would define you.

Who and where are your customers, and what are their needs and wants?
How do you define your customers that want to buy your products or services? Are they a distinct, definable group, a certain age range, a certain social group, or have a specific salary bracket? Where do your customers or clients hang out in the social media world? Do they belong to certain groups, do they participate in certain activities, go to certain venues or shop at specific sites? What is it they want or need? Have you asked them? Perhaps you should?

What are your products and services, and what is your competitive advantage?
In defining your product or service, its’ features and benefits, what is it that makes your product stand out from the competition? What is it that you offer that others do not, or that others may have a hard time replicating , or others just haven’t thought about making part of their product? This is critically important as it is a fundamental aspect of what makes you stand out, and perhaps why people buy from you and not your competitors. Your competitive advantage is they key to your success.

What external influences could affect your business?

New government regulation, the economy, new technologies, changes in demographics, new industry trends, are just a few of the influences that can affect your business. Which factors do you need to keep an eye on to ensure you stay ahead, and how could they change your business? For certain, keep your eyes on your competition and what they are up to – what seems to be working well for them?

What are your short and long term goals?
Based on your analysis so far, you should now try to define your realistic short and long term goals. It is important to be specific here as this to will have a significant impact on your plan and what you need to do to achieve the goals. Use numbers and times where possible, and avoid ambiguity. It may also help to first define your overall objective and then how and when you are going to get there.

How can your Social Media strategy help you achieve your goals?

It is essential that your Social Media strategy complements your other marketing activities and supports the achievement of both your short and long term goals. It needs to reflect the business you are in, it needs to focus on your competitive advantage and help you achieve your goals, and it needs to focus on your customer market segment and play to their needs and desires. The type of activities you might think about, include:
• Market and customer research (including customer feedback)
• Brand awareness and product/service offerings
• Advertising and promotion
• Public Relations
• Lead Generation

In my next blog, I will layout the key aspects of any good strategy and the specifics of social media strategy. Hopefully this has given you something to think about. My goal is to make your life easier and to ensure you are as productive as possible. I hope you enjoyed this and that you will send me your comments, subscribe and link to my blog at http://mpconsulting.worpress.com , and if you need help, or need to ask me a question, click on this http://bit.ly/ikBWe5.

Free Guides are available from my blog site on a number of business subjects including: Strategic Planning, Business Plans, Marketing Plans, Social Media Planning, Public Relations Planning, Time Management, Negotiating Strategies, Effective Business Meetings, Due Diligence, and many others. To visit my blog, go to
http://bit.ly/ikBWe5

MP Consulting Services specializes in the areas of strategic planning, leadership, marketing and social media. Mark Philip, principal at MPCS, has over 20 years experience in managing businesses, both small and large, has orchestrated multiple turnarounds, built product pipelines, launched new products, sold companies and created significant shareholder value. Let me know how I can help you with your business challenge.

For More Information: visit my blog at http://mpconsulting.wordpress.com or visit my LinkedIn account at http://www.linkedin.com/in/markpconsulting

Copyright © 2012 Mark Philip

business     Competitive Advantage     customers     market     products     services     Social media     strategy