3 Questions for a Social Media Checklist: Getting Started

If Social Media is something you feel you need to do for your business, or if it has got your attention for the results it can bring and the contribution it can make, you will want to get started straight away.
But before jumping in and testing the water, it’s worth giving some thought to your approach; three simple questions on this social media checklist should help.

1. Where is my audience?
   In choosing which social networks to be active on, look at where your typical customer or influencer of customers is likely to hang out, research who is active on that network and see what opportunities there may be for you – and decide this network by network so that you can understand what type of activity would work best for your type of business. The more you have an understanding of how the people you are trying to reach are using social media channels, the better you will do when you begin to address them. It will also be more straightforward to tap into all the content opportunities you find and how to plan out and test how well they work for you.


2. What will I say?
   Start by listening, understanding and responding, an often underestimated part of your research into which networks will be most efficient for you and will help you achieve your goals. Identify your key messages to get out to potential customers, so that you can efficiently get your message out there, but don’t fall into the trap of just broadcasting – listening and responding and talking with others will help you to get deeper into what works and what doesn’t on each network. Set goals for your actions, and regularly evaluate how you are doing against these goals – they will change and develop quickly over time.


3. Do I have time to do this properly?
   Identify what resources you have and how you can approach this in the most efficient manner. While it is straightforward to set up systems and tools to support you, you will still need to have a good idea about the structure and the nature of the content you will be sharing and the purpose of this activity. While jumping in and having a go is great, running out of steam soon afterwards is not; with a little forethought, measurable targets and a bunch of planning upfront, you will be able to jump in and to keep running with confidence.

If you are still unsure, or this all seems a little daunting to get started with, get in touch with me and I can help, with a variety of different packages and approaches to suit you, I can get you up and running quickly and you will start to see results.

What other issues do you have in setting up your social media presence? I would love to hear what your concerns are, leave a comment or a question below and I will be happy to respond.