It’s difficult to ignore the importance of social media in today’s marketing landscape. With over 2.7 billion active users worldwide, social media provides a direct line to potential and existing customers online.
But before getting started on social media, there are several things you need to consider. Set yourself up for success by answering the following questions before getting started (or hitting the reset button) on social media:
1. Who is your target audience?
Before anything else, you must know who you’re talking to on social media. Your target audience is made up of your ideal customers — those who will help your business grow. Define these factors to identify your target audience:
- Age range
- Gender
- Geographic location
- Income status
- Relationship, family status
- Occupational field
- Hobbies and interests
You can then use this data to create your buyer personas. A buyer persona is a representation of your ideal customer based on market research and data you have about your existing customers.
Identifying your audience will help you select the most effective social media platforms to market your business. Once you have the details of your target audience, you can look at the general demographics for each social media site. For example, if you’re marketing to professionals interested in expanding their job skills, LinkedIn would be a natural choice. If you’re marketing a product to 18–29 year olds, Snapchat and Twitter would be your ideal social media platforms.
2. What are your goals?
Set clear and concise goals for your social media efforts. Do you want to increase referrals? Grow your followers? Increase brand awareness? Develop your email list? Drive traffic to your website? Provide customer support? Determining your goals will help you define your mission and excel at social media.
Set specific goals such as “I want to add at least 50 email subscribers in 30 days”. This allows you to measure and track your success on social media.
Pro tip: Use the SMART criteria when defining your goals. Make them Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
3. What is your business’ personality?
A great way to determine your brand’s personality is to imagine your business as a person. Then think about what your business’ personality would be, it’s relationship with your customers, and other businesses that have similar personalities.
Identifying those key points will allow you to cultivate a specific voice and tone in your social media marketing. You want to be authentic in how you engage with users and being true to your brand personality is part of that.
4. Who will oversee the social media channels?
Whether you or someone else on your team is managing your social media channels, it’s essential to designate one person to oversee the channels. That person can delegate tasks such as content curation or scheduling posts, but the person who oversee the social media efforts will be able to create and carry out a cohesive strategy across all channels.
Also ensure the person overseeing your accounts has experience with social media, understands your business, knows the target audience, and has a clear understanding of how to handle customer service on social media.
Once you’ve answered these questions, you will have a concrete grasp on what you need to do to get started on social media. To continue growing your business on social media, check out these additional resources.
