Are you wasting your time on social media?

Have you ever been frustrated because you believe social media can be beneficial for your business or nonprofit, but you aren’t seeing results? Maybe you’ve started using it and feel like you’re spinning your wheels. Or perhaps you haven’t done anything at all, because you don’t know the best way to get started. 

Typically, people I speak with about social media marketing fall into one of three groups. 

Group 1

Those in the first group are having success using social media. The actual platform they are having success on varies. Maybe they’re using Facebook, maybe it’s Instagram, or perhaps it’s LinkedIn. Regardless, they know it can succeed because they’re already seeing success. 

If you’re in this group, congratulations! 

Group 2

Those in the second group don’t believe social media can be successful. Sometimes they’ve used it themselves and failed, sometimes they haven’t even tried. Regardless, they don’t believe it can help. 

If you’re in that group, feel free to stop reading now. There are hundreds of success stories out there you could read if you really wanted proof. I won’t waste your time trying to convince you. 

Group 3

Those in the third group believe they could be successful with social media, but they aren’t currently seeing results. 

Do you belong in that third group? If so, it’s highly likely the first step toward success is simply creating a plan. 

So how do you create a plan for your social media marketing? 

Personally, I tend to be a ready, fire, aim kind of guy, so planning doesn’t come naturally to me. As a result, I came up with the Non-Planner’s Guide to Planning Digital Marketing. It can apply to anything from blogging to email newsletters, but we’ll look at the three steps in the context of planning your social media marketing. 

Step 1 – Set a business goal

It’s a challenge to know if you’re really successful with social media unless you are trying to accomplish a specific business goal. Do you want more leads? Do you want to cut down on customer service phone calls? What do you want social media to do for your business? 

Don’t forget to write your goal down! 

Step 2 – Track online milestones

Track your progress toward that business goal. For example, while getting a certain number of followers on Instagram by a certain date should NOT be a business goal, it CAN be an online milestone. 

Be sure your online milestones are relevant to your business goal. 

Step 3 – Block out time

Maybe you’ve told yourself, “I’ll do my social media marketing when I get around to it.” If so, then it probably won’t happen consistently! If you play multiple roles in your organization, online marketing is probably one of the first things you ignore when your schedule gets hectic. 

Actually block time out on your calendar on a regular basis. Allow yourself the time to succeed! Of course, you can alternatively budget money to work with a digital marketing company.

If you believe social media can be successful for your organization, be sure to set yourself up for that success! Follow these steps to create your plan, and you’ll be far more likely to succeed than you were before.