Most mHealth companies agree that social media is an important component of a successful marketing strategy. Many have a blog, Twitter account and a Facebook page. The paramount goal for most businesses is increased sales or a measurable return on investment (ROI). However, what can be confusing about social media participation is how to effectively maximize your time investment in these platforms.
Here are five questions from Lee Odden that you need to ask. Your answers will help you identify your brand and achieve more impact from your social media efforts.
Get Social Media Impact for Your mHealth Business: 5 Ways
- Who are you?
What do you want to be known for? What do you stand for? What’s unique about you? - What makes you special?
How are you incorporating your professional “unique selling proposition” into your social content, sharing, and engagement? - Have you looked in the social mirror?
Have you looked at the past 20 tweets that you’ve published? Do the same on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, or other social networks you’re involved with. When looking at 10 or 20 social content objects together, you can see what kinds of messages you’re sending and determine if those threads support your social objectives or not. - Are you reactive or proactive?
Are you thinking about the impact of your social content on others or is it mostly a form of self-expression in the moment? If you have professional objectives from your social participation, think about that each time you tweet, update, or comment. - What’s it like to experience you on the social web?
Rather than viewing each tweet, update, comment, or blog post as a stand-alone engagement effort, think about how others will view the cumulative of your social engagement. What memes can be found within your own social content streams? Do they support what you stand for? Do they reinforce what you want to be known for?
While your messaging and content development are key to creating a social media presence, understanding the importance of listening to your audience can’t be stressed enough. But don’t be discouraged if you don’t have thousands of followers or “likes” right off the bat – it takes time and effort.
photo credit: Marc Smith via photopin cc
