Social media is seen by many marketers as the next gold rush. Like any business, the media industry evolves in cycles. In the past, there have been few job openings at media companies but now as content converges and more media companies are looking for ways to branch out and reach larger population bases there is an increase in the availability of highly coveted marketing positions.

However, the availability of new technologies and new developments in the media industry have created a demand for new kinds of experience, cultural knowledge and skills sets that candidates must be aware of if they wish for such a position.

If you are pondering starting social media marketing, these findings will help push you over the edge.  If you’re already onboard, feel free to examine what the really experienced marketers are doing.

When searching for a marketing position in the media industry it is important to know that the industry is highly heterogeneous. Marketers should also be aware of the competition that they will face when pursuing a position at a media company. Typically, marketers must have a plethora of solid experience and a vast understanding of the media industry and the specific changes impacting the industry they are looking to work in. Marketers should already be familiar with how to communicate their messages across a variety of mediums and how to connect with a large customer base.

Social marketing requires so many processes going on at once that it can quickly become overwhelming. It’s no wonder that things can slip through the cracks.

5 Simple Things Most Social Media Marketers Forget To Do

Set Goals

It’s amazing how many campaigns are run without a set goal. Marketers understand that social media is interacting with consumers but forget they need goals to track success. The goal doesn’t need to be a sales figure, it could be something as simple as number of @ replies on Twitter or Facebook fans. By analyzing your current standing, your goal and your % change you can decide what has been working and what not. Without these numbers you can neither optimize your campaign nor determine success.

Link Profiles

Linking your social media profiles to a hub and each other is a simple and effective way to build a community throughout your network. By making it easy for consumers to find the brand profiles you will remove an obstacle for them to join the community. Giving consumers multiple ways to connect with the brand increase the likelihood.

Use Multimedia

The web has evolved to go beyond just textual content to include images and videos. Leaving out this section of content means, disregarding a large section of consumers.

Listen Intently

When engaging in social media, 60% of your time should be spent listening to the industry and mentions of your brand. Only 40% of your time should be spent actually interacting with consumers. Here listening means actively tracking conversation and reading mentions. Just knowing that they exist is not enough; you need to know what they’re talking about, how they talk and what the trend is.

Have Fun

One of the forgotten, yet most important aspect of social media is to have fun. Brands forget that they’re engaging consumers talking to them instead of broadcasting a message. By having a good time yourself and staying upbeat consumers enjoy interacting with you. The brand must set the mood for the engagement, just like in offline relationships, online consumers will take cues from the brand on how the interaction should occur.

Remembering these 5 strategies can help make your social campaign a success. These may be easy to forget, but are extremely effective.