Digital marketing plan

Digital marketing plan: avoid five common pitfalls

2013 is the year to change the way you perceive social networking and digital marketing! They key to success is your engaging with your friends and followers. Do not post and run. Would you walk up to someone at a networking event and tell him or her all about you then turn around and walk away? Your social media profile alone does not give you credibility. Through communicating with your social networkers, you can earn credibility and favor. Successful digital media influencers take their Twitter and Facebook accounts very seriously and the relationships they develop are well worth their time.

Avoid five pitfalls in marketing plans. Do not repeat the mistakes that lead to the wrong impressions that social networking is ineffective.

Pitfall #1: Loss of momentum. Too often, we make plans and do not follow through. We might start out strong then allow distractions to redirect our attention. If you start a blog, make a reasonable schedule of times you know can write. It takes about a month to make or break a habit. Work on creating marketing habits and keeping momentum.

Pitfall #2: Giving out the keys to your personal pages. It is one thing to use multiple social network administrators for a company or group page or account, because others expect that, but please be the real person behind your personal account. People are easily irritated by online imposters and undisclosed spokespersons.

 

Pitfall #3: Hiring a marketing firm and not engaging in the process. Brand and business development is much easier well when a professional or company hires a professional firm to manage and direct publicity, content generation, social media and search. This relationship is a two way street. Your marketing professionals can better help you when you frequently communicate the news you like, the services you enjoy, and other personal aspects of you and your business. You communicate your brand.

Pitfall #4: Talk about relevant and trending topics and news. Learning to find the hook takes time. Ask yourself, “Who cares about what I’m publishing, and why would they?” If you cannot answer your own questions, redirect your efforts. Here is an example: When I teach blog writing to my clients, I explain how I follow popular and trending stories that people will recognize, and when they see an article from a known lawyer about a hot issue, the people reading believe that the author is human and knows current events.

Pitfall #5: Being stuck in impressions and ROI statistics rather than valuing human capital. If you engage and earn a friend who is a Twitter heavyweight with credibility, the value of their re-tweeting your content is substantial. Here is an example: I earned respect from some key industry blog aggregators who now follow me on Twitter to grab and share the content I publish. A few high quality followers are worth more than a volume of non-engagers. Go forth, measure your ROI statistics, and use that information to drive strategy, but do not get lost in the data and ignore humans.