Raise your hand if you have a marketing plan and social media plan. It’s OK, you are not alone. I have spent a lot of time lately chatting with people who are still struggling to incorporate social media into their organizations. Things that I commonly hear are: “We don’t have time for social media;” “We can’t manage one more thing on top of everything else that we are doing;” “We need business results and don’t have see how social media can do that.” The list goes on and on.
Last week I was speaking to a group of people about these issues. In our conversation, the first thing that we discussed was identifying business goals and why you need social media. When looking at your overall marketing plan, social media needs to be part of the discussion and not an after thought. Does this mean that you must use social media? No, it means that it should be evaluated in the same way that you would email marketing, website, advertising and any other marketing channel. As part of your communications planning process, social media should be a factor for consideration.
When looking at any channel, here are some things to think about to help you select the right platform to communicate your message:
- Organization Goals
- Evaluation of Channel Features
- Audience Demographics (Where do they like to hear from you)
- Time Available
- Resources (people and financial)
- Method of Measuring Success
Sure, social media is not for every business. However, with 1.1 billion people on Facebook alone, there is a good chance that it might have a place in your marketing plan. Take the time to properly evaluate all of your options and make social media part of the conversation.