Of the world’s Internet users, 82 percent participate in social media, according to comScore. What’s more, one in every five minutes of time spent online is on a social networking site. With stats like these, there’s no denying that social media is an integral part of our communication culture.
While it only makes sense for businesses to use social media as a marketing tool, jumping into social media without having a strategy in place is like a professional football team taking the field without a playbook.
Here are five key things to consider before creating a social media presence for your business.
1. Set Goals
Without defining goals early on, how can marketers know what strategies to pursue or whether those strategies are successful? Before creating your company’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media profile, take a moment to think about what you want to accomplish. Common goals include increasing brand exposure, boosting website traffic, gathering marketplace insights, generating leads, and positioning yourself as an expert in your industry.
2. Know Your Audience
Social media marketing is about interacting with people who are interested in your products and services. To determine what types of content will drive the most productive interactions, it’s important to learn who your target audience is and what motivates them.
3. Evaluate the Competition
Look before you leap – and pay special attention to your fellow leapers. Seeing what your competitors are doing with social media can help you identify what works and what doesn’t with your target audience. By keeping an eye on the competition, you can also discover potentially profitable opportunities that they are missing out on.
4. Measure Your Success
Regardless of what goals you’ve set for your social media marketing campaign, you won’t know whether you have been successful in achieving them unless you measure your results. That being said, the goals you set will determine the standards of measurement you use. For instance, marketers who want to increase brand exposure might track things like the number of fans/followers, level of sentiment, amount of shares/re-tweets, and highest performing topics.
5. Have Fun
Contrary to popular belief, you can accomplish business goals and have fun at the same time. In fact, when it comes to social media marketing, having fun is one of the secrets to a successful campaign. Social media fans and followers are keenly aware of the energy with which you post, tweet, and interact. Clients and customers often connect more with companies whose social media presences feel genuine and human. After all, people like doing business with people.
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