BACK TO ARTICLES 
Making the move to Social Media Marketing is obvious and second nature now. However, many people are still lost on why they’re even using the platform they’re using (or if it is even working). These are some important questions to ask yourself when formulating a social media marketing strategy.
Am I Using the Right Social Platforms?
Build a social base on a handful of social platforms and then begin to use them in full effect. Do this and let things go their course. Then go and re-evaluate the performance of your social media efforts. Abandon any platforms that are not performing and then optimize and allocate time into those that are. Do not assume and make decisions based off of conjecture. Make your decisions and actions based off of measurements and data. And there you will have your answer.
Why Am I Using This?
What’s your goal with using X, Y, and Z social platform? Are you looking to do social selling? Are you aiming to engage with customers? Is it for customer support? Increase general awareness? It is important to know what your goal is with the social platform you have. Resorting to creating it because that is the norm will not accomplish anything. For example, Twitter can become an exceptional (and cost-effective) tool for customer support. In this case Twitter has a purpose and the goal is to deliver quick and timely support to customers.
SEE ALSO: 10 Tips for Building an Awesome LinkedIn Profile
Am I Reaching the Right Audience?
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are extremely popular across the internet, so it’s safe to assume your audience is active on those platforms right? No not always, and it is important to be sending messaging to where your audience is. Let’s say you run a B2C women’s accessories e-commerce site. Showing images of these products will be most effective in getting the job done. So this person should explore image based platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest.
What Can This Accomplish?
Don’t expect a Social Media page to be your saving grace. Social Media is great for customer engagement, humanizing your brand, brand awareness and support, but not a sales channel. Social Media selling is viable and something that can be used to sell, but it has been proven to be one of the least effective channels to do so. Be realistic, be informed and be educated about what a solid social media presence can do for you. Have a plan and know that social media is a part of that plan and not a driver.
