Define Your Social Media Objectives

Your objectives will largely depend on your current and upcoming social activities. For example, if you are just starting with social media, your objectives could be to develop brand visibility, generate awareness, establish trust or listen and respond to your customers.

On the other hand, if you are already active in the social space but are embarking on a targeted campaign, your objectives could be to launch a product, establish a need or want, drive traffic to a website or landing page and ultimately persuade users to take action.

Alternatively, if your company is using social media to manage your online reputation, then your objectives could be to monitor online conversations about your brand, respond to comments (both positive and negative), form or change opinions and establish or regain trust. (More information about online reputation management will be discussed later in this guide.)

If you don’t know where to begin, think about your reasons for using social media. Are you leveraging it to bring attention to a new product or service? Are you using social media to attract new customers or establish loyalty with existing ones? Are you using it manage your brand? The campaign you initiate will be determined by your social media objectives.

Communicate Your Objectives to Your Employees

Once you define a clear and concise objective for your company’s social media activities, the next thing you need to do is communicate that objective to your employees, especially your social media team. When directing your social media team, you will need to ensure they know and understand your company’s purpose for leveraging social media and the specific targets they must strive to reach with each campaign. Like any other marketing tactic, social media marketing must be driven by specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). Your team must understand this in order to be on the same page and work towards success. (We will discuss more about measuring social later in this guide.)