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Who will be responsible for monitoring our social media presence?

How will we monitor our presence?

Where are our audiences in the social media hemisphere?

Who are our industry influencers?

How do we engage them?

Answering these questions will help you narrow the seemingly limitless possibilities for social media engagement. Successful social media plans are qualitative not quantitative. Focus on these four simple basics:

1. Listen constantly.  As you become more successful in leading social media engagements, don’t forget what got you there in the first place. Continue to keep your finger on the pulse of the industry (and your audience) by continuing your listening activities.

2. React either online or offline, when necessary.  When your audience speaks, react. You’ve engaged them, they are now taking part in the social media conversation, keep going. The key to continued engagement is to react quickly. In an instance where you find a negative review or comment, reply, then ask to take the conversation offline. Discuss the situation and try to find a resolution that is suitable for your and the customer. Develop an SOP for future monitoring and response to negative comments online.

3. Focus your attention on where your audience is.  If your audience is on Facebook, go there, if not, don’t waste your time. It’s as simple as that.

4. Engage with industry influencers.  You’ve determined who the influencers are in your industry, now engage them. Comment on their blogs. Ask questions. Be seen on their social media activities. It will help to establish yourself as an expert and raise your online presence in the process.

Engage with your audience in the manner and method in which they want to be engaged and you will have a social media plan with positive outcomes. Ensure that your social media tactics match your goals for the engagement and you will see positive traction.

Since there are no rules for social media, I will offer three tips that will help to build and maintain your social media strategy:

1.Engage your audience in the method in which they want to be engaged. If your audience tends to use Facebook to keep up with old classmates and what their brother’s sister’s cousin’s cat is doing at this exact moment, they are probably not interested in discussing blood samples with you via this method. Find them elsewhere.

2. Engage your audience in the manner in which they want to be engaged. If new information or the latest industry trends are important to your prospects’ job performance, deliver this to them either through user-generated content or links to other articles and blogs where they would find useful information on these topics.

3. Do what works for your brand. If you are selling shoes, finding your audience on Facebook is a distinct possibility. If you are trying to land XYZ Pharma’s phase 3  clinical trial for their new oncology drug, Facebook is probably not your best bet. Instead lead them to your user-generated content that highlights your oncology trial expertise through links on LinkedIn, Twitter, email blasts, etc. Look at your brands goals and positioning and decide what best aligns with these.

There are no hard and fast rules for social media. Just like there is not a box that every brand will fit within perfectly. Every brand, and therefore audience, is different and requires unique methods of engagement.

When you are pressed for ROI metrics on your social media, look at inbound inquiries, conversion rates and sales numbers. These are all indicative of your social media campaign. While your social media campaign may not be the sole reason for a positive increase in these numbers, it surely is a contributor.

Remember, results don’t happen overnight. It takes time and effort to build an effective social media campaign. Don’t give up.