1. Setting goals for your social media marketing plan
Setting goals is the most important part of your social media marketing plan. Your goals are the foundations on which you build your business empire. Nobody knows the vision and path of the business better than the actual business owner. As a business owner YOU need to determine what you want to achieve with social media rather than asking someone who does not share your passions, or the same interest in the business, to formulate the goals. If you do want to outsource this vital part of your strategy, you have to be VERY good at sharing your story, at explaining your vision, dreams and outcome for your business.
2. Learning how much time/resources are required
As a business owner it is important to know what it takes to do the job. If you have no idea how long it takes to create a monthly content calendar, schedule the posts, source the content, write the content, engage online etc. then how do you know what to ask for in a social media manager? It is good to know and understand how long this person will be spending on your social media efforts and what you should be getting in return for it, especially if you are paying them for executing your social media marketing plan.
3. How to read statistics and know your successes
Learning how to read the statistics is an important task if you are paying someone to look after social media marketing for you. The fancy graphs and numbers are great, but you need to know exactly what they mean for your business and if and how they translate to sales. Doing the work yourself first will give you valuable insights that will help you down the track if you want to invest in a social media manager.
4. Knowing what to instruct and ask for in a social media manager
It is hard to give someone instructions if you are not entirely sure what you are asking for. Giving someone instructions on what to do on social media without fully understanding what it is, what it takes and what results it could have, is a difficult thing to do. As a business owner it is important to have knowledge of different areas so that you can instruct your staff appropriately and guide them in their daily work and help them with their personal growth.
5. Being the voice of your business
Social media is about engagement, about building relationships and being the ‘voice’ of your business. Nobody does this better than you, the heart and soul of the business! You are your business, you are the voice of your business. The internet and social media gives you an opportunity to have a conversation with your customers and potential customers and they are looking for the real you… not an imposter or an automated machine.
In addition, there are added risks to having someone else looking after your social media marketing. It is wise to invest in learning how social media works and what it can do for your business before handing it over to someone else. Social media marketing is a wonderful vehicle to grow your business, and it is most definitely worth the investment.
