Social media has re-routed the path to marketing success, forever.
If you’re still following your old marketing maps, you’ll get lost pretty quickly.
The new maps are still being drawn-up, so right now those who want to navigate social media sure-footedly will need to hire a guide.
But since everyone (including my Grandma) knows how to use Facebook, why do you need a guide?
Let’s go back in time 30 years. It’s 1982, and thanks to a healthy profit the previous year, your brand is about to run its first ever TV ad campaign.
This is your big break opportunity to enter the major leagues.
You’re at a turning point, a moment that could rocket-launch or ruin your business.
What’s your next step?
You’re going to hire the best TV director your money can buy. Someone with the experience and skills to catapult your brand into the hearts and minds of every TV viewer.
Assuming that anyone with a Facebook account makes a good social media consultant is like assuming anyone who knows how to use a TV remote can direct a TV ad.
A New Tipping Point
Newsflash: It’s no longer 1982.
Today, we’re at a different tipping point. Not TV, but social media.
The old marketing rules are quickly being rewritten. The new rules have heralded two major changes:
- Everyone’s a creator. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can be a blogger, a video director, a business success. Social media has a low barrier to entry, which means anyone can enter the major leagues, if they get it right. That’s not to say success is easy – just that anyone can give it a try. With more competition, you must try harder and be more flexible than ever to stay ahead of the game.
- Everyone has a voice. Old marketing was a monologue: the media (including marketers) spoke, everyone else listened. Thanks to social media, marketing is now a conversation. Consumers can talk back, and if they like you, they’ll talk about you to their friends. Get everyone talking, and you’l go viral. That’s a big opportunity for marketers. However, it’s also a threat if people decide to bad-mouth your brand.
What A Social Media Consultant Can Do For Your Brand
Hiring a social media consultant can completely transform your brand. Social media has the potential to put you out there in an even bigger way than TV, for the whole darn world to see.
It’s crunch time – and you need to choose the right social media consultant for your brand.
That’s a tricky decision. It’s a decision that could change your business, and your life, forever.
Here’s what a social media consultant will do for your business:
- Point you to the right social networks for your business, where your customers hang out (there are many more than Twitter and Facebook)
- Help you engage with the influencers in your niche, and show you how to work with these influencers to promote your products
- Make social networking integral to your website and other relevant marketing materials
- Put together strategies for driving leads, engaging your target market, and going viral on social media
- Show you how to use social media in a time effective way, and integrate social media into your daily work flow
- Offer you bespoke social media advice that’s a perfect fit for your business goals
Seriously, this is big. Businesses who get social media right can increase sales by up to 1000% – that’s ten times more sales. (Want proof? Check out this article in the Guardian newspaper)
How to Choose a Social Media Consultant
Through a series of articles, I’m going to help guide you through the process of hiring the right social media consultant for you. I’ll show you:
- How to choose a social media consultant that’s the right fit for your brand.
- What you can (and can’t) expect from a social media consultant.
- Why your social media consultant must have high emotional intelligence, and how you can tell whether they’ve got this.
- What questions you should ask before you hire a social media consultant (and what questions they should be asking you).
- How to spot the warning flags that they might not be right for your business.
- How you can check their past successes – and failures.
- Finally, If you’re a bootstrapper who’d prefer to go it alone, I’ll tell you the skills you must cultivate to be a social media superstar. I’ll also provide practical tips on how you can develop those skills.
Next week: Why your Social Media Consultant must have high emotional intelligence.