Friday, 4 May 2012

Use of Social Media for Marketing, and Other Marketing Activities

May 4, 2012

Use of Social Media for Marketing

Gone is the traditional method of advertising in the newspaper and radio and in with current social media marketing and advertising platforms. Or are those methods gone?

For sure social media is in and it continues to grow exponentially. Just when you thought user bases were leveling out, a new interest in a platform keeps the level of growth consistent. It seems every week a new wave of more interesting social media platforms emerge. However, business owners must not forget the other forms of marketing that would add value to the marketing mix.

Social media marketing involves the promotion and attention of your business, and engagement between users of social media platforms and your business’ products and services. The use of social media for marketing would be the purpose of gaining traffic and attention to your business.

Whether through short bursts of information using Twitter or detailed Facebook or LinkedIn pages, the absolute benefit to businesses using social media, is that information can be shared quickly across massive audiences. It has been a business to consumer and business to business trend over the past era, but not known if this marketing trend will be long-lasting. If it will be long-lasting, social media marketing may evolve as fast as the whole social media industry itself is evolving.

Marketing Activities – Considerations other than Social Media

Marketing plans could be chalked full of a mix of marketing activities, new and traditional forms. An entrepreneur should dig into developing activities that would be applicable to promoting and getting out the appropriate message on their own product and service mix. Yes, social media may work to a certain extent, but may not be the best avenue for local, personal marketing for example. Entrepreneurs may have to consider forms of advertising and that promote products and service in person, such as trade shows, and promotional events. Differing from social media marketing, trade show events give you the ability to showcase products and services to masses of potential customers, with colourful, interactive displays manned by representatives (actual people) promoting the business.

Marketing Plans

When developing detailed business and marketing plans, consider the mix the marketing activities based on your intended audience, and what type of method you will use to effectively engage with your audience and raise attention. You may find social media works well in junction with other forms of marketing activities. Carefully weigh your options for marketing activities and measure results from activities. Best results may occur when revising your marketing activities mix.

Strategy Plan One

http://strategyplanone.com

Business information, resources and tips for the entrepreneur

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Capacity Building with Successful Training Programs

Strategy Plan One

March 28, 2012

Capacity Building

Capacity Building within your organization starts with successful training programs. To achieve success in training programs, research the capacity building needs of your organization, and the needs of employee development. Significant surveying of the potential participants should take place – this will shape your program. From this point, strong and detailed planning will be required to take your training initiatives into successful capacity building territory.

Mandatory Training Programs for Capacity Building

If the training is essential or mandatory for your staff, then your employees need to be committed. To make that experience more value-added, ask employees for their input into mandatory training, which could involve flexible scheduling, involvement in the design and preparation, and pre-emptive messaging on the importance of the mandatory training programs.

Value added Training Programs

If the training program is one of value, but not mandatory, it is sometimes a hard sell. An example of this would be skill enhancement or management training for organizational development. Programs such as this require gauging employees for interest. The organization has a vested interest in the capacity building of internal employees, as this may be the most cost effective way to retain human capital and corporate knowledge. To the employee developing and moving into management of specialized area is not a mandatory exercise but one of choice. The benefits of the training program and future prospects within the company must be promoted.

Capacity Building Benefits of Training Programs

Organizations must zone in on the benefits, especially the benefits to the employee, which will result in benefits to the organization through capacity building. The highest priority should be to convince employees that training will absolutely benefit the employee first, organization second. This will enable a high-level of buy-in when the employee benefits are placed out front.

Similar to promoting products or services to the populous, organizations must develop the right messaging around training and development programs for their employees. A well-developed training program will demonstrate how the organization will assist with the personal and professional development of employees, with no huge commitment from the employee. If the employee is quite demanding with training and development that they are interested in, that is a different story, and may require a bit of negotiation and commitments from both the employer and employee. With expensive management training an organization may want a commitment from the employee, such as strategic employee retention, development and promotion. Strong commitments will create strong relationships between employee and employer.

Training and development programs are essential to capacity building within organizations and staying competitive in the global environment. As noted special emphasis must be placed on ensuring there is a two-way beneficial aspect of the training program to get maximum buy-in from staff leading to a successful training program.

Tracking Capacity Building Progress & Results

To round off the procedures for successful training plans, ensure you track progress and results. With any project such as a training program, measure the effectiveness and return on investment. Revise accordingly for continuous capacity building in your organization. You will note progress when your units are gaining capacities in operations and management, and if your employees are buying in, you will achieve a high retention of your staff.

Strategy Plan One

http://strategyplanone.com

Business information, resources and tips for the entrepreneur