This document provides tips on developing a social media strategy for growing a business. It recommends analyzing where your business and customers currently are with social media, setting goals for how social media can help, building a community by engaging with customers and prospects, and continually measuring results to improve content and strategy over time. The key aspects are developing a strategic plan, building relationships in your target communities, and regularly creating and sharing creative content that aligns with your brand and business goals.

1. Strategy, Community & CreativityGrowing your Business with Social MediaDeborah Crawford

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3. Where are YOU now?What’s your position/reputation/brand? Do you have a website? How’s it doing?Business social media accounts & profiles?Personal social media?Content? Blog, photos, video, etc?

4. Where is your industry?Check out industry leaders Check out your competition (and keep checking)What are they doing that works?How do they interact with the community?

5. Where are your customers, prospects and referrers?Are they using social media?Are they using social media to interact with brands?How do they use SM? For Business? Purely personal? Not at all?

6. Strategy – Part OneYour Business Plan/Brand Promise/Mission/ValuesYour goals—revenue, customers, markets, communicationsYour customers—who are they?Your prospects—who might be a customer?Your referrers? Who can send you business?

7. Strategy – Part twoHow can social media HELP you?What types of social media fit best?What resources can you allocate —people, time, money? What do you have that can be adapted to social media? Collateral, content?Work social media into your plan—not vice versa!

8. Social Media Goals Set some! Steal from your business plan. Write social media goals and a marketing action plan. Goal or Objective, Action steps, Measurement, Target Date, Results

9. Community Find them & help them find youStart with the community you already have – friends, colleagues, networksSeek out your target markets, prospects & referrersJoin the conversationListen & learn

10. Be a good citizen “Me, me, me” is NOT being a good citizenBUY FROM ME is even worseBe personal, even on your business pagesNot THAT personal! Build trustBuild relationships

11. Community Building ToolsRespond! It’s social media gold. RetweetShareFavoriteCommentRecommendRefer

12. CreativityKeep your brand & goals in mindHave funBrainstormSTEAL ideas Then, modify them – no plagiarismPromo calendar so you can always have fresh ideas – holidays, questions, Get your community involved!

13. CreativityTell your stories. Educate your community about what you know bestEngage & connect with peopleCauses & current events Good connection pointsGood for the community

14. Measure & EvaluateIf you set measurable goals, measurement is easier.Give it time to grow. Things you can measure—friends/followers, conversations, comments, traffic, leads, salesEvaluate—what works, what doesn’tTweak—what can you do better? What’s a waste of time? What gets the best ROI?

15. Recap Take time to do the ground work Integrate social media into your business plansHave a strategy, but be ready to respond to results Build your community and be a good member of itKeep putting good, unique content out there

16. Deborah Crawford Contact Info: Twitter: debcrawfordFacebook: Deborah CrawfordLinkedIn: Deborah CrawfordBellaonline: Small Office/Home OfficeEmail: debocrawford@gmail.com