8-POINT CHECKLISTTURN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

INTO A PROFIT CENTER@MDGadvertisingby

For many businesses, social media is a conundrum: Engaging on the networks clearly drives interactions and awareness, but the direct impact on profits can be hard to discern.

Why is linking efforts to revenue so difficult? In large part because most firms tackle social in a piecemeal fashion, rather than becoming proficient in the full range of skills needed to successfully plan, execute, and measure campaigns.

In particular, it's necessary to master each of these eight core disciplines in order to turn your social media from a cost center into a profit center:

1. StrategySocial success begins with strategy. It is essential to start with a clear idea of what you're trying to accomplish and how progress will be measured.

To do this, you must be able to:

Understand your broadbusiness goals

Build audience profiles and customer funnels

Match goals to the bestsocial tactics/platforms

Set up clear KPIsto measure successes/failures

2. AuditingYou can’t execute on social without understanding the landscape. This means knowing what’s working for both your own firm and your competitors.

3. TechnologyIncreasingly, members of social media teams must have strong working knowledge of a staggering range of technical platforms and tools.

4. Paid Media

5. Content Development

6. Customer Response

7. Compliance& Risk Assessment

Gone are the days of posting content to social and having your audience see it. Paid media is now the name of the game.

On social media, your brand strategy is only as good as what you post. To achieve your marketing goals, you must elicit emotion and spark action.

Social media isn’t just for content delivery, of course. The major platforms are also important customer service channels.

The hardest elements of social media are often the behind-the-scenes, nitty-gritty executional elements that keep things on track and prevent issues.

8. Measurement Finally, there's no way to understand the ROI of your social efforts if you aren’t measuring properly.

Evaluate past and current performance across networks

Determine what should be replicated and what should be ignored

Understand the successful tactics of your competition

Find areas of opportunity where others are weak

Network features, such as Facebook’s Pixel

E-commerce platform integrations and attributions

Influencer outreach tracking and measurement

Graphic design software setup and utilization

Content queue management and control

Understand the paid content/ad formats of various platforms

Know how to optimize each spend to reach target audiences

Grasp which creative elements will deliver engagement

Work with data to see what is, and is not, delivering

Strong copywriting to make every bit of text pop

Compelling visual creators to capture attention

Skilled editors to refine and perfect offerings

Consistent oversight and quality control

Develop processes for responding when customers engage

Deliver high-quality service at both speed and scale

Design a tiered response protocol to triage requests

Work with technology platforms to monitor and track engagements

Consider trademark and copyright violations

Establish clear compliance-review processes

Develop training for staff and third-party teams

Create crisis-management plans and responsibilities

Determine awareness through impressions and reach

Understand brand affinity using social engagement

Determine purchase intent and post-purchase behavior

Evaluate the effectiveness of specific creative elements

If this strategic foundation is missing, your social media efforts will lack focus and will never deliver a clear ROI.If this strategic foundation is missing, your social media efforts will lack focus and will never deliver a clear ROI.

Auditing your own and your competitors’ social efforts is one of the best ways to maximize the effectiveness of your time and spend.

Auditing your own and your competitors’ social efforts is one of the best ways to maximize the effectiveness of your time and spend.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. There is an ever-growing, ever-changing list of technical areas that are essential to understand.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. There is an ever-growing, ever-changing list of technical areas that are essential to understand.

Providing superb customer service via social media isn’t just about digital success; it’s essential to the reputation of your entire business.Providing superb customer service via social media isn’t just about

digital success; it’s essential to the reputation of your entire business.

Ultimately, social media success comes not from mastering just one of these areas, but by combining strong strategic planning,

consistent auditing, deep technological knowledge, smart use of paid media, exceptional content expertise, skillful customer service,

careful risk planning, and rigorous measurement.

Ultimately, social media success comes not from mastering just one of these areas, but by combining strong strategic planning,

consistent auditing, deep technological knowledge, smart use of paid media, exceptional content expertise, skillful customer service,

careful risk planning, and rigorous measurement.

Successful use of paid media is about much more than clicking on Facebook’s boost button and hoping for results. It involves rigorous

planning, creative direction, and monitoring.

Successful use of paid media is about much more than clicking on Facebook’s boost button and hoping for results. It involves rigorous

planning, creative direction, and monitoring.

The key to social success is to continually win the hearts and minds of your audience, whatever your goals. That requires not just good

content, but exceptional content.

The key to social success is to continually win the hearts and minds of your audience, whatever your goals. That requires not just good

content, but exceptional content.

A solid social media compliance and risk assessment process is a critical step toward avoiding—or potentially dealing

with—sticky situations online.

A solid social media compliance and risk assessment process is a critical step toward avoiding—or potentially dealing

with—sticky situations online.

Good auditing involves the ability to:

To maximize the effectiveness of your social spend, you must:

This requires content skills, such as:

To master this element of social, it’s necessary to:

These areas include how to:

Successful tracking of campaigns is complicated and requires you to:

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Some necessary areas to master are: