Social Media Game Plan for 2013

Football season is winding down for college and pros. There are Winners and Losers. In watching the bowl games and the playoffs, it becomes clear that each team has a game plan. Some teams have good plans and some bad plans. Some teams do a better job of adjusting at half-time and come out on the winning end. Can you observe the difference?

Let me ask you a question… Would you go into one of those games against an opponent without a game plan? Would your coach/leader inspire you with confidence if he said, guys, I think we should just play our best and hopefully when the clock expires we’ll win this thing! Let’s just Wing It. Sounds absurd, right?

Yet today, I see many well intentioned companies, managers, leaders, and employees getting into the Social Media Marketing Game without a plan. Yet all expect to WIN! 76% of the businesses using Social Media Marketing will fail because they enter the game without a game plan.

Going into these games without a plan is admitting failure on the front end, and doesn’t inspire confidence with the team. Do you think you can wing it in today’s competitive world?

Here are some Social Media Marketing Game Plan Tips to WIN.

1. Have a Vision – Visionary companies who successfully utilize Social Media Marketing are admired by their peers. Pause for a moment and compose your own mental list of visionary companies; try to think of five organizations’ that meet the following criteria.

Premier company in its industry
Widely admired by knowledgeable businesspeople
Been through multiple product (or service) life cycles
Made an indelible imprint on the world in which we live

2. Have a Plan – Sounds simple…right?

Carve out some time with yourself, your team, your co-workers, employees, etc.
Openly discuss what the plan should be
Model successful companies

3. Have Goals & Objectives

Be very specific – I want X new Facebook Likes, I want X new Twitter followers
Break them down into manageable pieces/timeframes
Be specific
Be measurable
Reward yourself, your Team when attained

4. Be Focused

In a world of distractions, we must be laser focused.
We must ask daily, what is the best use of my time right now?

5. Be Balanced

Have a balance in your life, work, family, health, spiritual
Keep it all in perspective

6. Be Flexible

Sometimes your plan doesn’t work, right? Adjust
Be flexible enough to adjust, yet very clear about your goals and objectives
Be in tune with the competitive world around you
Every company is off course some of the time

7. Pick your Social Media Marketing Platforms

Where do your clients hang out on Social Media?
Invest in where they spend their time
How much time are you committed to spending?

8. Be Motivated

Find out what cranks your motor
The more Why’s you have to do something, the greater the success

9. Be Consistent

Do something each and every day
Find a way to make it happen
Utilize Social Media tools to preschedule your content

10. Be a Content Disseminator

Position your company as the expert
Position you as the expert
Improve SEO

BE INNOVATIVE

Innovative companies like Google, Apple, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube

Fast Companies top 50 lists of Most Innovative Companies.

2012 list of Innovative companies

2011 list of innovative companies

2010 list of innovative companies

2009 list of innovative companies

Avoid the COMFORT ZONE!!!

We’ve seen it time and time again in sports. One team gets a lead and then they start to coast, they don’t execute according to plan and slack off. In quite a few cases they end up losing the game.