Marketing Online In The Right Order – Build Your Platform
If you have that nagging feeling of failure when marketing your organization online, you’re not alone. Plenty of other people have felt the same way you have. The key is to move past that by figuring out what you did wrong, and correcting it.
In many cases, I’ve found that people had that feeling of failure because they were doing some key steps out of order. Or maybe they were leaving out some steps entirely.
Last time, we took a look at Step 0 – Build Your Plan. This time, we’ll move on to the first thing you do after your plan is ready.
Step 1 – Build Your Platform
When I refer to your platform, I’m really just talking about the websites and services you set up that will allow you to market to your target audience.
Possibilities
Your platform can include some of the following things:
- A business page on LinkedIn
- A page on Facebook
- An account on Twitter
- A Google Plus page
- A YouTube channel
- A MailChimp email newsletter account
- A website with a blog
You don’t want to pick everything under the sun, but just the things that serve the goals and milestones you set in your planning phase.
Don’t Do Everything
You also don’t want to get too ambitious, and bite off more than you can chew. Make sure that whatever platforms you select, you can actually consistently update your content on those platforms.
Don’t think you’ll actually send out a newsletter on at least a monthly basis? You probably shouldn’t set up a MailChimp account.
Worried you’ll have trouble blogging on a monthly or even weekly basis? Don’t install a blog on your website.
Already irritated by Facebook on a personal level? You probably won’t have much success on it from a business standpoint.
Remember, just because a particular platform has been successful for someone else, doesn’t mean that you’ll experience success there as well. It’s different for every industry, every organization, and even for different individuals in that organization.
Which Platforms To Pick
If you’re just getting started, and are doing everything yourself, it can help to begin on just one platform. Pick a platform you already have limited experience with, even if it’s just on a personal basis, and start there.
Spend a lot of time on Facebook for personal use? Try setting up a page for your business or nonprofit.
Have strong opinions about what works and what doesn’t in email newsletters you’re subscribed to? Get a MailChimp account.
Already active in LinkedIn groups and make connections on a regular basis? Create a LinkedIn company page.
Of course, you may be excited and raring to get started. One way to make sure you don’t miss anything when creating your platforms is to actually pay an organization like T&S to do it for you.
Whether you’re investing money, or you’re investing your time, make sure your resources go into creating your platform the right way. That will give you a good foundation to build on later.