reading time: 3 minutes As a digital marketing company, we get lots of requests that sound like this: “Hi, I found your company online and would like to have you manage our Facebook page for us. Can you contact me with your fees?” Yes, part of what we do is help businesses who are trying to reach an audience on Facebook, but before you dive into Facebook, you need to ask: Is that where your target audience is hanging out? So many businesses we talk to have no idea what they want to accomplish with social media, how they should approach it, and what is required in order to be successful. Before you make the leap, you need to listen. Scope out what your competitors are up to with their social media. Where are they seeing success? Do some digging into conversations online to find out where your target audience is spending time. Then, identify the right platforms for your business based on what you want to accomplish. Although Twitter and Facebook get all the hoopla, that’s not all there is to social media marketing. And it might be a waste of your time and money to market there. Instead of just following the crowd, doesn’t it make more sense to connect with your target audience where they already live and play? Your social media consultant should want you to have the very best results. That’s why they shouldn’t set up any pages or run any profiles before asking some important questions about your motivations and goals. So before you sign a contract with anyone to help you with Facebook, or any other part of your social media initiatives, be sure they’re asking you the right questions. The two most important questions are: Why do you want to use social media to marketing your business? The answer to “why” could include things like: “I want to increase awareness of my brand,” “I want to be able to respond to customers’ questions and hear what people are saying about us,” or “I want to build deeper relationships with my customers—to keep them coming back.” No matter what your why is, your social media consultant needs to know so they can help guide you to the right platform and practices. What do you want to accomplish? Having a laser focus on your goals – short term and long term – is going to get you the best results. There’s really no point in posting photos on Facebook or tweeting five times a day if you don’t have specific goals. Sure, we all want more clients and more money, but be really clear on the steps you need to take to get more business. Create a list of immediate goals you want to reach. Then pick a small number of social media goals for the coming year. Some ideas might be: Increase website traffic by X% Generate X more email subscribers Launch a business blog Create social media team Establish a social media policy for employee participation on social media I know you’ve probably read a dozen articles on “Why you need a social media strategy” – but if you’re not using one yet, now is the time to start. Yes, you can find a social media “consultant” who will agree to manage your Facebook page for you, for a fee—but do they really care about your business? If they are just following your direction, can you really call them a consultant? Don’t set yourself up for failure by falling for a cookie cutter service. Make sure your consultant is actually a consultant and asks these two questions – and more. It’s the only way to design a social media strategy that works, and the only way to be sure you’re getting a return on your investment. Share this:TwitterFacebook