Social media

IT SEEMS THAT EVERY Minnesota business — big and small — has some level of social media presence today, and for good reason:

Hootsuite’s 2019 Global State of Digital report states that there are nearly 3.5 billion active social media users worldwide. If you’re not already using social media to grow your business, chances are you’ve considered it. When used correctly, social media brings value to businesses: it can increase brand awareness and loyalty, boost web traffic and search rankings, act as a cost-effective marketing tool and offer a space to authentically connect with your customers.

But, to make social media work for your business, it’s important to be mindful and strategic about how you use it. Consider the checklist below to increase your chances of social media success for your company.

YOUR CHECKLIST FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS:

Have a strategic social media plan in place

Because it’s fast and essentially free to start using social media, it’s tempting to jump in and begin posting without a plan. But this mindset doesn’t set your business up for success. Rather, social media should be seen as an important part of your marketing communications strategy. As you plan, consider the following:

• Who will manage your social channels?
• Who will write and post the content?
• Are there any topics you want to steer clear of?
• Who needs to review and approve social content before it’s posted?
• Who will respond to questions and complaints, and what’s the protocol for responding? (Hint: You’ll want to respond sooner rather than later.)

Conduct a social media audit

Whether your business is already active on social media or not, conducting a comprehensive audit is a great way to assess what’s working and what could be improved.

If you’re already active on social, step back and ask: Are your channels set up correctly with completed bios and links back to your website? Are your social media handles consistent across all the platforms you’re using? Is your content relevant and balanced (meaning not entirely sales messages)? Note which posts earn the most engagement (likes, comments, shares) and which posts are ignored. Are you missing opportunities to engage with your social followers?

If your company is not already active on social media, review what your competitors and other brands you admire are doing. Pay attention to:

• What social channels they’re on.
• How often they’re posting.
• What they’re posting about.
• How they’re engaging with followers. Are they asking questions? Posting polls? Sharing content their audience would be interested in versus pushing their own sales?

Choose the social channels that make the most sense for you

Don’t sign up for every social channel just because it’s there. Instead, choose one or two channels that your target audience already uses and build a strong presence on those channels first, then consider expanding to other channels in the future. Also consider the products or services your business offers. For instance, Instagram makes more sense for a visual business, such as a florist, than for a professional services company such as an accounting firm.

Set goals and define success at the beginning

Because of the nature of social media, it’s not always easy to quantify success. Define what success looks like to you and how you’ll measure your return on investment. Some of the most common success metrics include:

• Increase in followers or likes
• High engagement rate
• Number of link clicks
• Boost in your website traffic
• Email list sign ups
• Overall brand awareness

Once you decide what success is for your business, set measurable goals to work toward, such as increasing follower count by 10 percent or securing 20 new sales leads through your social media pages. Setting these goals upfront will give you something to measure against in the future.

Have a clear social voice

Determine your social voice and be consistent. It should be authentic to your brand and also make sense for the channel you’re on. For example, if you offer more serious services, avoid making too many jokes or sharing superfluous content (like memes or cartoons). Or, if you’re using Facebook, consider a more conversational, relatable tone.

Create a social content calendar

Use a spreadsheet to plan and track everything you’ll post on social media. Proactively planning your content helps you avoid having to scramble when you haven’t posted in a while. Be sure your calendar is flexible enough to make changes as necessary (for instance, to respond to relevant news or share your company culture in a natural, spontaneous way).

Follow the 80/20 rule

Remember: Social media is not a megaphone for your brand to push its product. It’s a place to increase brand awareness and community engagement. As you plan your social content, keep in mind that roughly 80 percent of your posts should inform, educate or entertain your audience, while only 20 percent should promote your brand or sell your products (with a heavier emphasis on your brand than on selling). Social media is not a sales tool, and customers may unfollow you if you use it solely for advertising.

Adapt as needed

Watch analytics within each channel, especially the metrics you identified in the goal-setting stage, and use that data to identify emerging trends and see what is and is not working. Then adjust your strategy. Social media is constantly changing, so adapting your strategy as needed is key.

Social media is a wonderful business communication tool — when it’s used correctly. As with any marketing communications tools, its success hinges on thoughtful planning and execution.

This checklist should get you on your way to enjoying the benefits social media can offer your business.