Social media has transformed the way brands promote their services. It also presents exceptional opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience and interact with them directly.
But social media also brings with it many challenges!
Measuring Your ROI
Social media ROI is based on your specific business goals, so how you’ll go about it will differ from another businesses’ approach. Before you can start measuring your ROI, you need to have clearly defined goals in place. This is why your social media strategy is so important. Make sure you have one in place with quantifiable goals. You have to be able to attach a number to them in order for your goals to be tracked. For example:
- Newsletter sign-ups
- Purchases
- Downloads of a whitepaper or app
With strategic goals in place and the right tools, understanding what you’re getting back from social media will become much clearer.
Choosing The Right Platform
Where does your target audience spend their time? You need to familiarise yourself with the demographics for each social network and see if your target audience is among them. It’s not enough to know where they are; you also need to know where they’re active.
Additionally, amassing hundreds of followers doesn’t necessarily mean you have an audience. You need to find out where your target audience is actively contributing, because if you’re not reaching the right people - then you’re not meeting your business goals.
Generating Content to Post
Regardless of which platforms you’re using, your goal when it comes to content is to keep it engaging, educational and entertaining. Never publish content just for the sake of making an update. Focus on publishing content that meets your business objectives. Always track your performance and be flexible enough to make adjustments where needed.
Don't Throw In The Towel Just Yet
It's important to have a realistic perspective of what your business is able to invest in social media (time and money!) and what you can expect in return.
Start thinking of social media as an important business building tool and less of a time wasting exercise, and you’ll begin to understand how it can help your business to build relationships, increase awareness of your brand, target key audiences and drive traffic to your website - all at a relatively low cost.
If you've been toying with the idea of using Social Media to market and grow your business, yet you still haven't made the leap. the time has come for you to take a good look at what's holding you back.
Let Us Help
Speak to us at Presto about how we can help your brand grow on social media. From developing social media strategies, to generating compelling content that can be the difference between a retweet or a delete, we'll guide you through the options.
Or maybe you're still unsure about the benefits of social media? Get in touch and we'll talk you through them.
Extracts from 10 Social Media Challenges Your Business Must Overcome via Sprout Social have been used in this article.