We hear the phrase again and again and it goes something like this, ‘social media is revolutionizing the way we _______’, and you can fill in the blank. It’s revolutionizing politics, friendships, shopping, customer service…and yes, the way your business should be run. But what if social media isn’t changing the way your business should be run? Should you spend time posting to Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin just because everyone else is?
Here are a few things to consider before you hire a consultant or a social media marketing (SMM) firm to build you a strategy:
Have You Identified and Prioritized Your Business Goals?
- Every company has goals, whether they are sales, revenue or competition-based. When considering any investment—like launching an SMM campaign for example, how will it help you reach those goals and how will you measure success?
Does Your Business Have a Natural Social Aspect?
- You and your team are (hopefully) the most enthusiastic supporters of your company and your mission. Do you find yourself talking about work on social media? Are there internal efforts exciting enough to share? Are your clients or customers finding value in social conversations?
Is There Sales, Branding or Customer Service Value?
- If you are talking about your company on social media, what comes out of those conversations? New leads? Brand awareness? Great customer service? If you are hard pressed to identify the value, it may be time for a conversation about what you hope to gain from social media.
Despite the contrarian title of this article, we’re not suggesting that social media is without value or is a waste of time. It brings real value to thousands of companies every day. What we are suggesting is that business owners and internal marketing teams evaluate each social media campaign the same way you would evaluate a new search engine marketing (SEM) or search engine optimization (SEO) effort. Ask what the goals are, decide how to measure success and proceed with concrete results in mind.
Getting swept up in a ‘social media is revolutionizing the world’ mentality isn’t going to lead to great results in every industry, and remember, as with any content creation effort, you shouldn’t start it until you’re ready to commit to its continued use. Few things look worse than a social profile that is being ignored.
If you have questions about online marketing strategy or what you can expect from a new campaign, get in touch. We’d be happy to talk about your options.