Editorial
What is the Purpose of Your Social Media Presence?
4
IMC Magazine Staff
Mark Lamdanski - Editor
Carol Riordan - Lead Editor/Design
Kiva Johns-Adkins - Contributor of Behind the Music
Chancy Johnson - Contributor of Out of the Woodwork Music Review
Diana Barnes - Contributor of INN a New York Minute
Beth Fedornak - Guest Writer
In the modern world of the Internet, businesses are almost inundated with data. From your website to your Facebook business page, you can track the metrics of how many posts get comments, shares, what time of day is the most successful time to post, and the demographics of who is posting on your page. It’s possible to figure out just about anything that you want to know about your social media accounts and learn whether it works for your business.
When you can know anything at all, how do you know what’s worth knowing?
Know Your Goals
What is the purpose of your social media presence? Are you hoping to build a community with your followers? Do you want to see them click through to your website and purchase your product? Do you want to be seen as a thought leader in your industry? Different goals require different strategies to meet them, and different measurables and deliverables to ensure that you are meeting your goals.
Understand Which Metrics Will Lead You Towards Those Goals
Once you know what your goals are, you can start deciding what you need to track in order to meet those goals. For example:
• If your goal is to build your reputation as a thought leader, whether your business is in makeup tips or content marketing, you may be more interested in seeing engagement on your posts and content. Are your posts being liked, shared, commented on, or engaged with?
• If your social media presence exists to drive sales, you may want to look at what happens with your sales in the hours and days after you make a post. By using specific sales codes, you can find out if customers are viewing your posts, and if they are then clicking through to make a purchase.