Preparation and Planning
In our framework for setting goals article, we highlighted a key problem that we heard from our customers. Many felt their ROI from marketing was declining and they were having to work harder whilst getting less. We presented a framework “7 Questions” to guide you in your planning. In this article we will explore Question 1: What is the other side doing and why? in more detail. We will be looking specifically at marketing activity for brevity and not the operational aspect of your business.
To understand what is happening in your world of social media you should regularly conduct an audit of your social media accounts. A key finding of the Hootsuite social trends survey 2024 was that organisations fear the ROI impact of being on so many platforms. With this in mind, you need to understand what is going on with your own world to enable informed decisions later on in the process.
This will require some dedicated time but once you have done it once, subsequent reviews will not take as long the next time. Remember to plan time to do this regularly.
- Find all of your social media accounts. You may think you know all of them, chances are there are a few you forgot about, and don't forget accounts which may be masquerading as you. You can then make a plan to sort these out. Just list them for now.
- Check for Consistency. Really dig into each of the profiles, ensure they fit your brand, check the images, check that URLS work, are your pinned posts still relevant etc. Record it all against the list you just started.
- Content Performance. Review your posts and content and find the top performing content for each channel. Copy a link into your list so you can review them later. What works on one platform may not work on another. Each social network has built in analytics tools, it may take a while to start.
- Channel Performance. Firstly, what's the point of the socal channel for your business? E.g. Some companies use X for providing fast customer updates only, and then use Instagram for engagement. Some accounts may have the same goals, that's fine but how do they contribute towards your marketing goals? If you are measuring traffic or conversion goals, are the accounts linked to Google Analytics for example (remember this isn't an exact science but seeing trends is still useful). Record the data you find on your list.
- Understand your audience on each platform. Once you know how each account is supporting your brand, you need to dig deeper to understand who you’re reaching. By knowing this you can create specific campaigns for the demographics and channel.
Now combine this understanding with your business data, such as new customers, lost customers, revenue etc and you will have a rich set of insights to allow you to really know your business inside out. This understanding will further enable you to inform questions 3. What outcomes do I want to have? and 4. Where can I best accomplish each outcome?
Instead of trying to be on every platform, spending valuable time, money and effort, use the data you have available to you to figure out what is right for your business. Master a select few platforms rather than being so-so at many so you can really understand what drives your ROI.
What to see how this approach can be applied to your business? Book a Free Review with us today, and discover how to empower your business for sustainable growth.
