Guest post by Debbie Laskey, MBA

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With brands both big and small diving into social media, how do you define successful social media marketing?

First of all, a social media plan must be written. Second, the social media plan must align with the overall annual marketing and communications plan. Despite what some CEOs believe, social media cannot be performed in a silo.

Third, a social media policy must be written and enforced. While it’s great when employees throughout an organization want to post about a brand, there should be some guidance as to the content and voice – which is why employees of many large brands include “Tweets are my own” in their bios.

To get you started on the road to successful social media marketing, here are my five favorite tips:

1. Create a consistent brand profile. The names, logos, and main website links should be the same for all social channels.
2. Match the appropriate tone and voice with each social channel. Instagram and Facebook may be more casual than LinkedIn and Twitter.
3. Build your social channels by using cross-promotion. Remind your Twitter followers that you also maintain a presence on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
4. Never link accounts. Unique content should be tailored toward each social channel because they are different. No one wants to see 10 hashtags from an Instagram post on Facebook.
5. Track your posts and links. Measure the number of likes, shares, and comments; monitor who comments; and monitor the comments and respond in real time. Track posts containing links with link shorteners (such as bit.ly or goo.gl).

What are your social media marketing secrets? Please chime in.

Debbie Laskey has 17 years of marketing experience and an MBA Degree. She developed her marketing expertise while working in the high-tech industry, the Consumer Marketing Department at Disneyland Paris in France, the nonprofit arena, and the insurance industry. Her expertise includes brand marketing, social media, employee engagement, leadership development, and customer experience marketing. Currently a brand marketing consultant in Los Angeles, California, Debbie serves as a Board Member of the Nonprofit Communications and Media Network, a PR Committee Member of the Special Olympics Southern California, and a PR Committee Member of the California Disability Services Association. Since 2002, Debbie has served as a judge for the Web Marketing Association’s annual web award competition and she’s been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Branding Experts” to follow on Twitter.
Twitter: @DebbieLaskeyMBA
Instagram: @DebbieLaskeyMBA
Website: www.BrandingAndMore.net