How A Social Media Marketing Consultant Evaluates A Social Media Campaign

There are generally two major issues local business owners come across when it comes to social media marketing. The first is that there is no overnight return on investment - social media marketing takes time and consistency. The second is that your messages cannot be arbitrary; they need to make sense for your business and what you have to offer.

To evaluate your own social media efforts, just ask yourself these questions:

- Are you using the right platform? First, remember that there are a variety of social media platforms for you to consider - most notably Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Further, within these platforms, there exist variations on the theme. For example, in Facebook, you can have a "Page," a "Group," or a "Community." Each variation has its own set of tools, purposes, and capabilities. In addition, you may decide to participate in several social media platforms at the same time. For example, if you have a fitness center, you may want to use your YouTube channel to publish videos on how to perform certain exercises or tapings of classes you offer there while using Facebook to build a sense of community through candid photos, listings of hours, available classes, and upcoming events.

- Have all your past attempts at social media marketing gone by the wayside? Unlike placing an ad somewhere, social media requires you to be active and consistent in order to be successful. This does take time and resources on your part. So if you have inactive accounts, for whatever reason, you probably should just delete them. If someone comes upon one of your inactive sites, it may tarnish your brand or worse, they could wonder if you're even still in business! Better to focus on consistently maintaining one or two main social media profiles.

- Are you providing the type of information and interaction that your audience wants? Ask yourself what it is that your audience would want to read, not what you want to tell them. Providing discounts or having giveaways can be useful, but you have to have more substance than that. Consider posting facts about your company, the brand, or its products. Think of the tidbits of information you encounter everyday that make you stop and say, "Really?" Examples include fun facts about how long you have been in business, what happens "behind the scenes", why your business operates as it does (e.g. why Yoga class was cancelled on Tuesdays, why you do not serve poppyseed bagels, why you buy local, why legal documents are presented in blue card stock), etc.

- Do you pay attention to what your audience has to say? Do you respond to them when they post or comment? Don't forget - you don't just want to broadcast a message - with social media, you want to interact.

- Are you allowing your audience a voice? As we just mentioned, giving your audience a voice - intentionally - will generate interaction. Ask them questions (not just yes or no), put out surveys and polls, ask opinions on new products - the sky is the limit. The more your audience has a voice, the more they will feel valued by you. Interaction is the whole point of social media; if you're missing out on this, you're missing the boat.