If: ‘Is my what aligned?’ and ‘What the hell are objectives anyway?!’ were your first thoughts, don’t worry.
We’ll break this down into three parts; your brands objectives, social media and how to combine all three. See? Not so scary.
Did you know that 93% of marketers now use some form of social media account?
To think there was even a time before Google-ing a business (does the Yellow Pages even exist anymore?) If they don’t, they’re now on their way to becoming very much behind the times. But how and where did they start? Put simply; they identified their brands key objectives. So what does that mean exactly?
Put simply; as a business, you are also a brand. This means you have certain things you want to achieve. These are known as goals, which can be more long-term. How you are going to achieve them in a timely and more measurable sense, are known as objectives. In order to best identify your brands objectives, reflect on:
- Who is your target audience? How do you plan on reaching out to them?
- What online strategy are you going to use and how does it fit into your business?
- What do you hope to gain from social media?
Once you have identified exactly who it is you’re targeting and what you hope to gain, you can focus on the how.
So how do you do it? SOCIAL MEDIA.
Effectively using social media for your business can be tricky. Creating a Facebook page or an Instagram account and posting content ‘when I get around to it’ does not classify as an online strategy.
You have the potential to reach a LOT of people online. Did you know that that approximately 2 billion people have a social media account? So utilise it!
Thanks to social media, brands also have the opportunity to:
- Increase Brand Awareness: Let everyone know exactly what your brand is all about. What is your brands back-story? What are your values? Set the stage for exactly who you are and where you are (planning on) going.
- Get detailed customer insights: Social media allows you to see firsthand what people are saying about your brand. It also gives you the opportunity to engage with them and act on their feedback.
- Become Accessible: A solid social media presence makes it easier for people to look for and connect with you online. You can be exposed to a large-scale audience = achieving your brands objectives!
Aligning your brands objectives with an effective social media strategy may seem very daunting, but it’s all about figuring out what works for your business. So where do you start?
Step One: Brainstorm Business Objectives – Pick Your Top Four
Any longer and you’ll give yourself a headache. Keep it simple and don’t lose sight of exactly what it you want to achieve. How you are going to do so, are your key objectives. Keep in mind the points mentioned earlier when thinking about your brands objectives. Once you have indentified them, prioritise the top four and work from there. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so ensure you allocate a time frame. Do you want to see results in a week? A month? A year?
Step Two: Brainstorm Social Media Objectives
It may be confusing as to what social media truly means for your business and exactly what can be achieved with it. It’s important to remember not to limit your brand to just one form of social media channel. Spreading across multiple relevant platforms not only allows for more online reach, but it also allows for accessibility. The easier your business is to find, the more ROI you will benefit from.
Step Three: Match each of the priority business objectives with a social media objective
Once you have the lists of business objectives and social media objectives, things from here on out should run smoothly. Essentially think about: how is this social media objective going to benefit my business and maintain my brand’s positive image? Will Facebook be relevant, or do you need something more visual like Instagram for your customers to relate to?
Step Four: Remember to think of your business as a whole, not just about the social media platforms!
The biggest challenge when it comes to aligning your business and social media objectives is that many people associate social media with marketing. This limits the scope to gain maximum value from social media investment. Social media is not just marketing, it’s social business. In order to get the best revenue, you need to think about how you will add value to customers, processes and employees with social media.
At the end of the day, what truly matters is how social media platforms and tools are used in alignment with your business objectives. Aligning social media and business helps to ensure a successful marketing campaign.
