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November 07, 2011 at 11:00 PM
The ultimate goal in most businesses’ marketing strategies is to increase returns and reap a higher profit. I’m sure many advisors are familiar with the saying “butts in seats.” The great part about social media is its ability to integrate online and offline communications. If social media is all about people having conversations online, why not turn those conversations into in-person events and vice versa? Think about it—the purpose of social media is to create and nurture online communities in much the same way that you would treat offline communities.
Don’t think you have the offline company resources to utilize in the online world? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you have a TV show, radio show, blog or video blog?
- Are you a columnist in a local paper? Or can you find someone to cover a story on you?
- How do you participate in your local community (church, chamber of commerce, education, smaller local networking groups)?
- What are you currently doing for marketing (direct mail, radio ads, TV ads, newspaper ads, newsletters)?
If you can answer yes to at least of one of the questions above, you have the ability to integrate your online and offline communications.
Now, let’s address the same questions above but provide ways of creating avenues between your online and offline efforts.
Do you have a TV show, radio show, blog or video blog?
Not only can you utilize your social networks to promote your TV or radio show (including creating groups and fan pages for each one), but you can also take the recordings from both and upload them to video hosting sites, such as YouTube. Once the videos and recordings are uploaded, post them on your social networks to promote the show. Blogs and video blogs can be treated much the same way, with posts on your networks promoting them. If you have a TV or radio show and a blog, promote your blog offline by hosting specific shows dedicated to the blog topics.
Are you a columnist in a local paper? Or can you find someone to cover a story on you?
At the end of your columns, make sure to list your social networks and tell your readers to visit your website and become fans of your organization. Make sure to have the columns published online as well, and link them to your social networks as well as push your followers to the columns online.
