Most people have the sense to find a leader to guide their steps fairly soon after they decide upon a direction they wish to take. Unfortunately, I have never been one of them. It has taken me ten years of wandering largely in the deserted wastelands of the Internet to come to the conclusion that I ought to get myself a mentor. The advantage of this time lag is that I have been able to choose a mentor whose progress I have had the opportunity to observe over the course of a decade or so and, indeed, I have been fortunate enough to be able to persuade one of the very first Internet ‘gurus’ whose newsletters I ever subscribed to that I might make a reasonable candidate for mentoring.

These guys are a little fussy, you know. It’s no longer just about the money they can command from wannabes when they reach the dizzy heights. It’s about ensuring that their pupils go out into the virtual world and become a credit to their teachings. A guru is only as good as his last disciple, so to speak. Well, I hit the jackpot, as it turned out. My new mentor suggested that, rather than take instruction from him alone; I join one of the longest-standing groups online, run by a team of firmly-established Internet and Social Media marketing experts and consultants. Agreeing to do so was, without a doubt, one of the better decisions I have made in my life.

Apart from the incredible talent and experience that has been made available to help me on my way, the software that is provided for members to use is astonishingly cutting-edge and probably worth many times the subscription fees. In fact, just recently, I was sent a link to the latest software developed especially for the group which, apart from being incredibly helpful in the business environment, has enhanced my enjoyment of using the Internet as a whole and made some of my erstwhile tedious chores turn into pleasurable tasks that are quickly completed.

Amongst the materials available to members are a wealth of training videos and also a series of thoroughly readable documents of various kinds, each designed to give clear indications of what is still working, what no longer works, why and why not. Some of the documents are also made freely available to the public outside the group and I have taken pleasure in sharing them with anyone who wanted some straightforward guidance without having to buy it.

There is something very reassuring about being in the company of those who lead the markets that everyone else runs to try and keep up with, after so many years of being amongst the stragglers who turn up at the table when all that is left is the scraps from what clearly must have been a wonderful banquet!

One of the highlights of my week is Jack Humphrey’s Friday Traffic Report blog. Every week there is something interesting, pertinent and of practical use to all Internet marketers, whether newcomers to the scene or veterans of long standing. It is to be hoped that you will take advantage of the fact that one need not even be a member to enjoy the mine of useful information in Jack’s blog at jackhumphrey.com/fridaytrafficreport/ every week.

You may like to start with: Track Your Social Marketing Enjoy!

If you’ve decided that you want to get serious about using social media to market your business, it’s important to take the time to develop a social media strategy. Creating and executing a strategy will ensure you’re getting the best return out of the time and resources you invest into social. So if you want to craft a strategy that’s going to help you succeed, here’s what you need to do:

Understand Who You’re Targeting
Just because there are over a billion people on Facebook doesn’t mean you should try to connect with all of them. The best way to use social media is to narrow your scope and only focus on users who are actually in your target demographic.

Put Time Into Creating Great Content
When it comes to social marketing, content plays a key role. However, simply pumping out lots of content isn’t going to cut it. Instead, you need to make it a priority to create awesome content that people will find interesting and engaging.

Utilize Multiple Platforms
There’s a lot of value in creating a presence on multiple social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and LinkedIn all have proven track records of helping businesses grow. While it’s easy to understand that different platforms allow you to connect with different audiences, plenty of businesses get overwhelmed by the thought of managing multiple social media accounts. Fortunately, a social media dashboard can make it much easier to track and manage more than one account.

Use the Same Branding Elements
Although you may share different content through your various social platforms, it’s a good idea to keep elements like profile pictures and tag lines consistent. This will make it easy for people to identify your brand regardless of where they encounter you online.

Get Creative
While there are plenty of best practices, don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches to sharing to see how well they perform.

Focus on Engagement
Make it a priority to actually connect with your followers on a regular basis. This will remind them that there is a real person behind your business.

Stick with 70-30
A big part of an effective social media strategy is to find the right balance between keeping people interested and promoting your business. The best way to strike this balance is with the 70-30 rule. By limiting your self-promotion to 30% of your updates and using the rest to share things that are genuinely fun or interesting, you’ll get far better results than if all you did was promote your business.

Review Your Social Media Analytics
Looking at your social media analytics data on a regular basis will do a lot for helping you to guide all of your marketing efforts.

Stay on Top of Your Industry
There are a lot of social media monitoring tools that can help you keep an eye out for trends within your industry. By staying on top of those things, you’ll be able to position yourself as an authority figure within your industry.

Don’t Be Afraid to Change
If something in your strategy isn’t working as well as you would like, don’t be afraid to try a new approach. Consistently reviewing and revising will allow you to keep your efforts moving in the right direction.

If you put everything we covered above into action, you’ll be very happy with the social media strategy you’re able to develop and the positive impact that it has on your business.