There’s no magical formula for social media. It hasn’t been around long enough to fully understand all of the nuances to different platforms – especially when they change and grow pretty often. So what if we told you there are simple guidleines to help set your social media strategy and actually have it work?

Guideline 1: Where are your people?

The first rule of communication is always know your audience but, once you do, the real question becomes, where are they at on social media? If you’re trying to talk to them in the wrong place, you’re just shouting in the virtual wind. Not every single target audience is on Facebook or Twitter and that’s ok. Do some research up front to find out where your audience spends their time online. Use social media that makes sense because the people you want to reach use it too.

Guideline 2: What is truly your goal?

Most social media sites give you gobs of analytics. The question is, what do you really want to know? This article addresses reasons why your social media strategy isn’t working. Are you setting the bar too high or are your goals too longterm? Social media is great for engaging with your target audience and pushing traffic to your website. Make sure you’re setting goals you can measure and zeroing in on analytics that really matter to you.

Guideline 3: Don’t set it and leave it.

Social media is quick paced and ever changing. Keep yourself up to speed on the latest. That doesn’t mean you need to know everything about every platform, but you should at least be in the know with the ones you use. In this digital age, social media users can be a tad bit erratic. You should monitor your efforts every day and making adjustments accordingly – this really only takes a few minutes. If you hit on a topic that your audience really engages with, think about how you can rework it for future use. If you post a dud, then it’s probably a topic you want to stay away from. The point is, you have to watch your efforts and not be afraid to make modifications – both when things work and when they don’t.

Social media can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be impossible. We’ve got the experience to help you examine your current terrain or dive in to the unknown. Give us a shout – we’ll help you figure it out.