Before adopting a new social network into a marketing strategy, smaller brands and businesses should consider whether or not it would be beneficial to their company. Unlike large brands like Coca-Cola, a small brand’s customer base might not be present on every network. To get a clearer direction of what your social media strategy should focus on if you are part of a small brand, here are several questions you can ask before launching into the learning process associated with any social network.
1. Which social media network do most of your customers utilize?
If all of your customers are active Twitter and Facebook, but not so much on Pinterest, its important to focus on Twitter and Facebook. Its often easy to get caught up in the allure of a new network, but your community will ultimately determine where you should be allocating your efforts. When building a strategy its essential to test and audit results so you do understand the trends as they happen and are able to explore all opportunities to best serve your customer base.
2. How many personnel will you need to stay involved in the network?
Another important factor to consider is whether or not this network will require a whole new job position in order to maintain it. If your business is short staffed, or confined to two or three employees, social media networks like Twitter and Facebook are easier to adopt because the groundwork has been laid by so many other brands and organizations. However, adopting new networks that require creativity and strategy just to get them going, may require more man power and factor into the resources you dedicate to your social media presence.
3. Do you want a social networking tool that will support your business or one that will drive business to you?
While its no longer an option to have a social media presence or not, the purpose of a social presence still varies on a case to case basis. In some cases, social media can be seen as a supporter to the business and marketing initiatives. In this sense, social media supports the overall message and communicates with the public, but isn’t set up with defined business goals or results that meet the bottom line of a business.
On the other hand, many businesses find that social media drives measurable results that directly impact the bottom line. For example, Pinterest may not be great for two way conversation with your community, but its been documented that Pinterest drives referrals and traffic at an unprecedented rate. When this is the case, you have to understand how to set goals and metrics that define success and ultimately dictate the resources you invest into social.
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Once you have an understanding of what questions are important to ask before deciding on a social media network, you’ll find yourself being able to grow a strong foundation of social communication that allows room to evolve. Too many businesses try to jump right in without understanding the dynamics and potential of these tools and while they may have a fast start, they ultimately falter because they didn’t define their presence or goals early on. With social, asking the right questions will allow you to brand early, not often.