What Are Your Social Media Goals?

by Jessica Northey

Almost on a daily basis I am asked by someone, “What should I post or tweet about?”
My answer is always simple: what are your goals? No matter what Social Media Platform you are participating in, your overall online marketing plan synchronized with your goals will determine your online strategy.

There is no one size fits all answer when it comes to Social Media Optimization. But be clear about one thing, Social Media utilization with out a clear plan can be as bad as not using it at all!

I have always said, "determine your goals and manage your own expectations!"


Here are some common Goals I have identified working with a lot of clients:

-Increase their brand awareness.
-Own the way reputation//brand is portrayed online.
-Improve SEO(Search Engine Optimization) through using keywords specific to your industry/location.
-Increased targeted visitor traffic.
-Sales increase
-Get product out to people
-Gain more personal connections (*hint* this should be everyone’s goal!)

Written Goals = Success. Before you begin you should worry less about the platforms ie Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, Linkedin and identify what you are online to accomplish; if not crystal clear it is easy to get lost. Think about the big picture. Are you online just to get a lot of followers? If that is the case you may want to re-evaluate your intentions. I found the greatest success for clients is when we follow people we think are interesting and then try to be interesting.  What is interesting about you? That is a good question. Sometimes Social Media is a tough gig for humble people. It can be a bit daunting to put your opinions, ideas, thoughts out there and be crushed by someone else. I can remember when I first started writing for FTC. I couldn't believe how easily Chuck was always throwing out his opinions, good bad and ugly. As time went by I started to realize that no matter what you say someone somewhere thinks your wrong and someone somewhere agrees with you.

However, the ability for Social Media to level the playing field and give people the opportunity to relate, discuss and meet people that that they never would have is my favorite outcome. It is also an amazing way to humanize your brand and get it to the masses!