10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Your Social Media Strategy

Social media is a growing sector on where you can really get in touch with your audience in an immediate and meaningful way but before you start using these platforms, here are 10 questions you should ask yourself before you start.

1. What should my company aim to achieve with social media?

The basis of any social media plan is to have a goal, 95% of businesses on social media do not have an end goal. The reason most businesses fail at social media is without a goal how do you measure the results? There are many aims you can have for your company from gaining exposure for your brand to more commerce, building and sticking to these goals is the basis of a successful social media campaign.

2. Who should set up and maintain my company’s social media accounts?

Would you let the intern go on radio or TV to be the spokesperson for your company? This should be an indication of who should be your spokesperson in the digital world, it depends on the size of your company but your social media platforms should be maintained by someone who knows the ins and outs of your company and industry.

3. Should my company have a presence on all of the popular social-media networks?

Unless you can produce consistent and meaningful content on a social platform then by all means be on as many networks as you can. Find the platforms that you get the most response on and focus on that by looking at your business and see what social media platforms are suited your audience.

4. What are the best social networks for small businesses?

Twitter is a very powerful platform to be on for any size company, it’s also a great place to feed content to and from other social media platforms. If your business needs a B2B presence then LinkedIn is the best network to focus on, Facebook is great to inform and engage consumers. Pinterest is the social platform for e-commerce and has a large female following and Google+ is a growing network which feeds into your search rankings.

5. How often should I post new content on my social networks?

Two to Five times a day is the recommended frequency to post across your social media platforms, this should be enough for your audience to see your message, staggering your posts throughout the day will also increase the chance of you audience seeing your message.

6. What types of content should I post on which social platforms?

Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram are more visually based social networks so posts with pictures and videos are better suited to these while Twitter and LinkedIn to share and disseminate news. Make sure whatever you post is interesting and engaging to your audience as your goal should be to interact and add value to your brand.

7. Should I use social media to provide customer service?

Social media is a great way to get immediate feedback from your customers/clients, so providing customer service as a great way to use social media. If it becomes part of the conversation then make sure your company answers in a timely and informative manner even when it is criticisms.

8. How can I convert social-media followers into customers?

Trust, this is the main thing to remember when interacting on social media. If you can gain and retain trust from your audience, about your company they will be a higher likelihood of your social media followers becoming customers, it may sound counterintuitive but don’t try to sell on social media but try to add value to your audience and when the customer/client wants you product or services they will know it is from a trusted source.

9. How can I measure the success of my social-media marketing efforts?

A great measure of success should be if your social media campaign is aligned with your goals but remember the number of followers and likes are great but if there is no engagement with your audience this is for naught, interaction with your audience should be paramount.

10. What is the biggest mistake to avoid?

The biggest mistake in social media is not to be on social media, there is a conversation going on about your company or your sector so join in!

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By Omar Johnson

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