By Jorge Cordova
Whether you are a startup
entrepreneur who has hired an external social media consultant or even if you
form part of a larger organization with its own in-house marketing resources,
chances are you are getting some advice on how to best leverage social media to
grow your business.
Successful social media is an evolving science, and ongoing consultation is important. So how do you know if your social media “expert” is really an expert? To help you judge, below are eight things you should and shouldn’t be hearing.
Your social media expert SHOULD be telling you:
- “What do you want to accomplish?” Keeping up with the Joneses should not be the reason you are investing in Social Media -- it should be used as a vehicle to help you accomplish specific goals related to the growth or operation of your business. Decide what you want to accomplish before diving in.
- “Before we start, let’s create a content plan.” The way Social Media can help you grow your business is highly dependent on creating content that will be interesting for your target audience. This is where a content marketing plan comes in: who will write the articles, posts and blogs, what will they consist of, where and when will they appear? Figure this out first.
- “10,000 Likes? Who cares!” Don’t be fooled – or intimidated – if one of your competitors has thousands of Facebook fans. It’s not a popularity contest. What is important is how many people are engaging in conversations with you. It’s likely that 250 engaged followers are generating more buzz than 2,500 disinterested ones.
- “Let’s review the data.” If you aren’t meeting at least once a month (even if it is via conference call) to review data on how your Social Media strategy is performing, then maybe it’s time for a new consultant. Social media can and should have an ROI.
Your social media expert should NOT be telling you:
- You NEED to be in (fill in the blank social network). Actually, just because everyone else is doing it, even your competitors, doesn’t mean you do too. Although assessing the risk and cost of not participating is important, so is consistency. Focus your limited resources on Social Media channels that help you meet a specific business objective.
- I’m a Social Media Guru/Ninja/Expert. If they need to tell you that instead of showing you, there’s trouble ahead.
- I can get you a thousand followers in a week. Anyone can buy Facebook Likes for cheap. That’s useless because they aren’t real people who will be actually engaging with your Facebook or Twitter pages, which is what you really need.
- It’s the latest trend! Trends can come and go. Be careful about jumping on every bandwagon. Niche networks like Pinterest or Tumblr may sound great at first but their reach is a fraction of Facebook – is that where you want to spend your limited time and money?
Jorge Cordova has worked in electronic commerce for more than 15 years and is currently President of WSI Digital Experts. You can follow him on Twitter: @WSI_JCordova or contact by email jcordova@wsidigitalexperts.com.