If you are ready to find limitless success with your social media marketing, tired of trying the same old thing in a multitude of different ways, or just frustrated with not being able to truly measure the ROI of your digital marketing strategy, then it’s time to rethink your focus and purpose in social media marketing.

Clients frequently come to me with the opening comment “I need to be on social media for my business. My friend told me I should.” That’s great that someone recognizes the value of social media for marketing a business, but it’s just not as simple as “being there” when it comes to social media marketing.

The sky doesn’t have to be the limit.

Before you get to the point of “being there” you have to explore the reasons why a business should “be there.” Beyond the obvious “everyone is doing it” mindset, there is a lot more to establishing a successful presence in social media.  Even if you understand the “Rules of Engagement” and the “Laws of Perception” you still need to establish the foundation.  The main points and reasons to determine a purpose, and therefore mission statement, for using social media for marketing can be boiled down to very simple terms. Is there a consumer demand for your product or services?

What if there is not a demand? Marketing yourself via social media channels is a great idea if people are already seeking the services you provide. Sometimes – as with some specialty clients – it becomes more about establishing a need and demand before the marketing will be effective.

Here are my top three tips for helping clients identify where consumer awareness stands for your business and how to turn that into profits.

3 Steps to Limitless Social Media Marketing Results

1. Do people know your specialty exists? Are people aware of your products or services, or is it on the peripheral of an industry and more of a niche market.

   
   A great example of this is in the field of Dentistry, most people know they need to see a Dentist on a regular basis. A portion of the population might even be aware that they need to go at least twice a year for a cleaning and check-up. Beyond that most people know very little about what impact Dental health has on overall wellbeing and health.

   By creating educational content that focuses on the benefits of your services, specialty or niche can help create demand and answer questions that the public might have. This is pure SEM – search engine marketing – when it comes down to it. By creating content and anticipating questions that the general population is seeking answers to you are establishing yourself and/or your business as the expert.

2. Find the Gap, then bridge it. Review existing content and materials relating to your industry, identify where the gap is. There is always a gap, and that gap is usually a specialty niche within an industry.

   By focusing on that gap which already meets your specialty and filling the gap, you will establish expertise and gain significant exposure via the popular search engines.

   In the previous example of the Dental Industry that gap might be in the public perception of the purpose of Orthodontics. While recently exploring the area for a potential client I became aware of a lot of factors and medical problems related directly to the structure of the jaw, the position of the teeth and the direct impact on the airway of the patient. Among other things, these factors were very intriguing to me.

   When collecting data and researching the topic it became clear that there was a rather alarming misunderstanding of the value of Dental orthodontic specialists. Since the common belief, and misunderstanding, among many of the reviewed demographics indicated that people believe orthodontics were “optional” for most patients and more about “cosmetics” when in fact, the proper alignment of the jaw, the ‘bite’ and dental well-being has a significant yet underreported impact on overall health.

   In this instance the gap is the basic explanation of purpose and need, people won’t take action if they don’t have a sense of urgency. A good marketing plan will do just that.

3. Establish the urgent need for your services. People don’t desire what they don’t know they need. It’s pointless to be the “best kept secret” so instead of just going the normal everyday route of waiting for word-of-mouth or incentive marketing to do its job, create the urgency and the need for your business.

   
   Think of the great infomercials and the products they pitch. Until you saw that infomercial you didn’t know you needed that product. By the time the infomercial is over you MUST have that product, now. Marketing a specialty business is no different, before people have a demand you need to create that demand with a sense of urgency. To take it a step further you can create a sense of “exclusivity” by limiting the availability, the time offered, and so on.

   If you let people think about something for too long they tend to overthink their ways right out of taking action. Creating the urgency, establishing limitations on availability, and giving them a reason for a “call to action” will help grow the consumer response, demand and in turn grow your business.

Once you have followed the above tips you will be able to create focused content around a mission statement – or statement of purpose, and a marketing message that will take you from being barely a blip on the radar to center stage and in high demand. This is when you social media marketing on the channels kicks in, by having established a presence, and regularly built an audience based on your target demographics you will now have original content and organic reach that will leverage your primary marketing message mission.

This basic premise works in almost any industry, and a well-planned approach can be translated to a variety of businesses and specialties. The principles of marketing don’t change, just the variables used in determining the desired results and creating the strategic plan to achieve that success.