As of late 2018, it was reported that 23% of small businesses in the U.S. still do not use social media. Despite the many known and proven advantages of having a dedicated business page on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, some owners are under utilizing the power behind this form of digital marketing. From inconsistent posts, to a lack of engaging content, there are many possible ways to limit the benefits experienced on your chosen platforms. Since there is no magic number of postings, images, or offers, there are some key indicators to help you decide whether your business is doing enough on social media.
Do you have a social media marketing plan?
In almost every area of your business, having a plan is one of the top strategies for success. Social media should be no exception. That’s why experts from Social Media Daily recommend creating a marketing plan for all of your organization’s posts, advertisements, and special offers. Rather than simply posting whenever you or your marketing director feel inspired to do so, a social marketing plan provides efficiency, direction, and relevant statistics to get the most out of your efforts. Without any kind of structured guidance, you will miss out on the potential engagement and brand awareness that you could easily have. Also, depending on how busy your schedule gets, you could run the risk of having people unfollow your page due to inconsistent or non-valuable content.
Are your efforts producing solid ROI?
Even though it can be challenging to measure, you should have (at minimum) somewhat of an answer to this question. If you don’t, you are not doing enough to capture the effectiveness of your social media posts, offers, and/or advertisements. As of the current data, the majority of companies do not pay attention to this aspect of their marketing efforts. In fact, Hootsuite reported that only 34% of all organizations put in the time and effort to measure social ROI. In order to know how much your business is getting out of your social media activity, it is crucial to create some kind of plan to capture, measure, and analyze the data that will help you make improvements in the future.
Are you spending a portion of your marketing budget on social media?
Too many business owners are under the impression that social media ads are ineffective, and that it is a waste of money to boost posts. The current data, however, dispels this notion. 53% of businesses are now advertising on one (or more) platforms, and social ad spending is projected to reach $93 billion by the end of this year. On top of this, results across all social channels demonstrate that these advertising efforts are highly effective (especially among millennials and Generation Z).
Rather than focusing only on how many posts you add, or the number of ‘likes’ your page receives, the key to knowing if your business is doing enough on social media is by assessing your strategies. If you currently lack a social media marketing plan, advertising, or a way to measure ROI, it is time to step up your current activities to optimize your results.
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