As a business owner you understand the need for a social media presence if for no other reason than to boost SEO. You may even have invested in an automated system or have someone on staff who coordinates the effort. It’s important for most every business to have an ongoing system in place to post on social media.
However, you might be at the point of asking yourself … so what?
If this sounds familiar, then it’s a good time to revisit your social media program. Hopefully, potential customers are finding you in search results because of your efforts but what else are you gaining? An effective social media program should also help your organization define its brand and strengthen relationships.
Here are a few first steps to help get your company’s social media program on track.
- Analyze how much time, effort, and dollars go into your social media program and then compare that to actual engagement (not impressions) which includes likes, shares/retweets, and comments. Low engagement could be a sign that your company’s content is not interesting, useful, original, or relevant to your followers. When is the last time one of your posts was shared or had comments?
- Review how many social media channels your company is active on. If you’re a small business and you’re posting on more than five or six that’s probably too many — unless you have very segmented target audiences that use vastly different social media outlets. Evaluate which two or three have the best engagement and reach your target audiences and focus on those.
- Evaluate what you’re posting. Is it content that your organization created? Or are you sharing from a content source that everyone (including your competition) is using? Consider creating homegrown content from your company’s internal experts.
Remember, the big players can afford to be on every social media channel and use the latest technology. Smaller companies need to be smart and selective. Wait before adding any new social media channels to see if it will be effective for your company rather than just exciting and new. Above all, keep refining your social media strategy. If you haven’t made any changes in a couple of years, it’s time to analyze, review, and update.