Why you need to be on board with your own social media campaign…
- Are you outsourcing your social media campaign to someone else?
- Are you depending on a third party to come up with content ideas?
- Do you wait for someone else to feedback whether your social media channels are working for you?
- Are you pouring money into something you don’t quite get?
If you have chosen to use social media to get noticed, drive your business and create awareness then you can’t just dump it all on someone. You have to be involved. There are five key roles you have to play when it comes to driving and owning your social media strategy:
1. Agree on your goals and objectives
You need to be able to agree goals and objectives with your marketer. For example, agree on who you are going to target and what your key message should be. Don’t assume your marketer knows. Get them to send you a content plan that lays who is being targeted and what is being said each week.
2. Get involved
There will be questions on Twitter and Facebook that only you will be able to answer. There are interactions on LinkedIn that only you can carry out. If a client questions something you said on Twitter, how will you answer them? Moderate your channels and ensure you know the moderation schedule so there is no overlapping.
3. Communicate, often
If you attend meetings relevant to driving your business will your marketer know whom you met that morning? Keep them updated on contacts you are meeting and make sure they connect with them.
4. Take responsibility
If leads are generated, you need to follow them up. It’s not your marketer’s job to chase potential opportunities and your leads will appreciate the personal touch.
5. Measure and improve
Ultimately, you need to ensure your marketer regularly reports on the performance of your campaigns or do so yourself. Look for areas where you can improve and repeat successful activities in different ways.
You need to set the rules upfront and if necessary agree on a Service Level Agreement to ensure consistency and of course, you to make sure your marketer makes your social media campaign work:
- Ensure you meet with your marketer regularly so they can give you an update
- Ensure you receive a monthly report so you can track progress
- Set KPIs for your marketer to achieve, follow up on this with them on your monthly meeting.
- If you can’t self-moderate, ensure a process is put in place to immediately cover off any interactions on any of your social media platforms. If you don’t get back to people quickly, you’ll lose credibility.
Social media is ultimately about people with other people, whether this is based on a product, service or if it is too drive awareness. If you’re going to get someone to interact with customers on your behalf, customers need to believe it is really you and not someone pretending to be you. Make sure your marketer works for you.
