What to think about before starting a social media business page
Social media for business used to be something you could opt into, not something you needed to be on. These days if you’re not on social media in one way or another, you’re truly missing out. We’re big believers that every business should be on social media, that’s not to say, that every business should be on every platform. Clients often realize that they need to be on social media but don’t always know the what, when, how, why or where. Here are a few things to consider when thinking about starting a social media business page:
1. What are your goals and objectives?
When creating your social media business page you should look at it as an extension of your other marketing campaigns. Sure, you can take the leap and get onto it just to have a presence, but you are doing yourself and your business a disservice if you don’t think of it like any other marketing campaign – regardless if you advertise on social media or not. Your business page should be an extension of your marketing efforts so knowing what your goals and objectives are is crucial. Posting just to post is missing the mark in most cases. Think long and hard about what your goal and objective of your social media page is.
2. What is your audience and demographics [ and what social media platform are they on].
The biggest mistake businesses make is thinking they need to be everywhere, all the time. The reality is that every social media platform isn’t right for every business or every client. What might be a perfect fit for one industry, might not be the best for another. Take a deep look at your audience and demographics to figure out who you want to target and what social media platforms they’re utilizing. It does no good to spend time and effort on a platform that won’t reach your audience or help hit your goal.
3. Are you able to have consistent branding across all chosen platforms?
Often times people rush into getting on social media platforms without doing proper research. It’s important before settling in on a custom URL to check the custom URL’s on other platforms you might be utilizing. Sometimes it’s unavoidable and you have no choice but to have slightly different urls because someone has snagged everything close to your brand, but if you do your due diligence, you could and should be able to snag properly branded custom URL’s that apply to all your platforms. Think long term too. While one social media platform might be what’s best for your business today, if your business has long term plans for expansion, it might be a good idea to snag a custom URL for that social media platform just in case it is the right choice as your business expands.
4. How much time do you have in a day?
How much time do you have in a day? How much time do you have to create content? How much time do you have to engage? How much time do you have to read and respond to comments, tweets, likes and shares? The reality of social media is that it takes time and energy. Putting up a post but putting no time into engagement is a huge mistake that many businesses often make. It’s crucial to set a reasonable amount of time aside for you, or someone you hire, to respond and engage on social media.
Need help with your social media presence – no problem – LRT is here to help ;P
5. Available resources
These days everyone is a social media expert or guru, at least according to them. The reality is that social media, like marketing, requires strategy and skills – do you have them? Does someone on your team have them? Whether you attempt to do social media in-house or hire someone to do them is a huge part of social media. The other part is what about content? Do you have enough content – mixed with business, pleasure and some company culture – to put on your social media pages. No one wants to see a page full of stock images or blogs that you’re recycling from Mashable. Creating unique, identifying and authentic visual content is key to a successful social media business page.
6. Overall strategy
As we’ve mentioned a few times throughout this article, social media should be seen as an extension of your marketing campaign. As such, you shouldn’t go into social media blindly. Social media should always have an overall strategy. In addition to creating your goals and objectives – you need to have a plan in place on how to tackle those. Creating a strategy to successfully reach your goals and objectives is key to a successful social media business page.
These are just a few things to consider when creating a social media business page. If you need help with any of it, LRT is here to help. From strategy to implementation we would love to help you make your business grow.
LRT is a marketing and graphic solutions company specializing in offset printing, marketing, social media, graphic design, signs, banners, vehicle graphics, social media, web design and development, SEO, blogging and content creation and anything you can imagine to help your business enhance its online presence and visibility. LRT Graphics serves a large variety of clients in Chico and surrounding North State and Northern California areas like Oroville, Paradise, Corning, Red Bluff, Redding, Orland, Reno, Sparks, Yuba City, Marysville, Sacramento and more! We would be more than happy to meet with you about your marketing, social media, web development or other marketing and graphic design project – we can do it all. Talk to the experts today!