What makes a successful social media marketing strategy?

As more and more people go freelance, marketing is increasingly important. Yet at a time when there are more freelance trainer, consultants & advisers, only a few seem to get the importance of having a serious approach to marketing.

Often I get questions in email and phone calls from people about why some people get success and some don’t get success from social media and twitter as marketing tools.

Where social marketing includes: forums, blogs, wikis, microblogs, online networks etc.

So, why do 95% of people either not see the point or fail?  Similarly, what’s the secret to success for the other 5% that make a success of it?

There are lots of answers to these questions, but here are 6 of the most common.

1. Success & Reward: We never really get after it.  To be honest, I think this is one of the biggest reasons for failure.  Some of us again say that we “want” success, that we “want” freedom, but rolling up our sleeves and getting after it is another story.  If being successful was easy, we would see a lot more people driving prestige cars.
2. Belief: We don’t believe in what we are doing.  All too often we get into this game “wanting” to be successful, yet we don’t fully believe in what we do.  Doubting the approach we have undertaken is a guaranteed route to failure.
3. Hobbies: We treat marketing like a part-time hobby.  Marketing activity is a key business activity and must be treated as such.  Just like becoming a consultant requires education and experience, so does learning to become a skilled marketer.
4. Lies: We lie to ourselves and those around us. We often kid ourselves into believing we are actually doing income generating activities, yet the reality is that many of us are simply being busy.  If we aren’t actively prospecting & exposing, we really are not doing marketing….
5. Fickle: We hop from technique to technique.  The grass often seems greener on the other side. It rarely is.  The solution to this is not in another approach.  The solution includes application of effort, working on you, your skills, and your work ethic. Stick with one approach and really work it, have evaluation measures. If the measure are not being hit (after a reasonable time) consider changing the platform. The goal is to master one before moving to another (keeping the previous one going with equal effort!)
6. Blame: We place blame everywhere else but on ourselves.  Those of us that who don’t create sales quickly point the finger at the technique, the site, the tools or any other myriad of choices.  Bottom line:  If others are making money using the same techniques and we aren’t, look in the mirror. 

If these are the things the 95% of people do – what are the top 6 things the 5% of successful people do? 

The team at RapidBI use a mix of blogs, forums and microblogging platforms (inc twitter) as an integrated part of our social media marketing strategy.

What are the secrets to success in marketing your business?

1. Secrets: There are no secrets to twitter or social media marketing Success at anything requires hard, consistent work that is concentrated on developing your skills & knowledge.  Every day requires diligent effort that is on task and relevant to your business (note business not just the delivery part!).
2. Thinking patterns/ Habits: There are many “self development gurus” that say that you have to work on your thought patterns, it is said that we are who we believe ourselves to be.  Our beliefs about ourselves, our company, our abilities… all affect how we interact with others and will either build our business or destroy it.
3. Focus: Concentrate on the business.  People who change every month or quarter to a new model or strategy are kidding themselves.  If this is your habit or pattern, it’s likely that you need to work on yourself first. 
4. Effort: Work harder & longer than you have before.  If this business is something you really want, you’ll put in the time and effort required, even when you don’t feel like it. 
5. Associate with success: It’s said that you are the average of the five closest people around you.  If the people closest to you have the same things as you have, you’re not going anywhere!  You must surround yourself with successful people.  Start making friends with people who inspire you.  Expand your thinking by taking in what they do.  It’s all about self development, so that you get a stronger belief in who you are and what you’re capable of.
6. Leadership: This type of self development allows you to build on your leadership skills.  No-one will ever consciously buy from you just because it’s such a great opportunity.  People, customers, want your leadership & guidance. The unique things that you bring to the relationship.  They are joining you and this we must get used to. 
7. Keep going: When the going gets tough the tough get going… never, ever, ever give up.  Often it may seem easier to quit, however the most successful people in any sector know that little worthwhile comes from taking the easy route.  It may be uncomfortable, even demoralising at times, but each day is a new opportunity to improve on the day before.  A missed sale/ opportunity is a missed sale.  It happens.  There will be more opportunities.

Obviously there are more details related to guaranteeing your success in marketing your business.  But this is how I see the start. Having an understanding of SEO (search engine optimisation) is also important. Its all very well doing all of the above if the content does not work!

I urge you to learn more about yourself, your sector and how you can achieve marketing success.  Find people who’s writing inspires you, network and attend workshops and seminars. On twitter follow people like @garygorman & @SharonGaskin