Think very carefully about what you want it to achieve (brand awareness, leads etc.) and have a clear idea about your target audience.
Paul Hunt is a marketing consultant
It may have escaped your attention, but a press release last week caught my eye, as it announced that social media has become the most popular marketing tool for advisers (according to research conducted by Intelliflo).
A small part of of me died when I read this, as although I am the first to recognise the importance of the medium (as anyone who follows me on LinkedIn or Twitter can testify), I feel this bias is wrong and can come at the detriment of other parts of the marketing mix.
However, I should not have despaired too much, as the research went on to say that after social media, events, sponsorship and emails were the next important mediums.
Let’s be clear here, the research was conducted by a social media business, so it is in their best interests to promote social as being the most important medium, but aside from this, my primary concern is that too much time is spent on managing social media when other methods could yield the same or greater returns for less effort.
As stated in the release, there are tools that can help businesses manage their social content, especially around the sign-off processes that we need to adhere to in a regulated world, so there is help at hand, but....
My steer to any business embarking on social media is to think very carefully about what you want it to achieve (brand awareness, leads etc.) and have a clear idea about your target audience, the messages you wish to convey, what you will post and what you won’t, who you’ll follow and who you won’t and so it goes on.
Like a packet of Pringles, once you pop, you can’t stop, so some time spent at outset planning your activity is vital to ensure you reap the rewards.
