Social Media – read this BEFORE you start!

If you are considering embarking on Social Media Marketing  i.e. a Facebook Business Page page or a Twitter account for your practice – make sure you have considered all the following issues:

• Do you have a clearly defined Mission and Goals? Why are you doing this, what do you hope to accomplish, and how will you achieve this?
• Do you understand where Social Media Marketing fits into your Client Acquisition Funnel?
• What are going to be your Social Media Channels – Facebook? Google Plus? Twitter? Instagram?
• Are you sure your target clientele is present in that particular Social Media channel in sufficient numbers to justify the effort of setting up and maintaining this channel?
• What is your Content Strategy? What is your message, how will you deliver it and how often will you be posting?
• Have you defined your Content Categories?
• Have you set up a Content Timetable?
• Are you familiar with content scheduling systems such as Hootsuite?
• Are you familiar with Social Media Advertising, Promoted Posts etc in your selected channels?
• What is Your Budget for these paid promotions?
• How will you be measuring the cost- effectiveness of these promotions?
• Do you realize that Social Media is a two-way conversation, which requires regular monitoring and responses to comments, queries and feedback (especially negative feedback!)
• Have you selected a member of staff to be your a Social Media manager?
• Can he/ she commit at least 15 minutes per day for posting to, monitoring responses and evaluating your pages?
• Can you ensure that all comments and questions are responded to within 24 Hours (preferably same day) on a regular working day?
• Can you ensure that any queries that cannot be answered by him/her are promptly forwarded to you for an appropriate response?
• Have you set up a roster for managing of the Social Media Channel when your assigned manager is away/ ill /unable to fulfil his/her role?
• Have you set up Guidelines on how to respond to any negative feedback?
• Does your practice have the flexibility to monitor and change strategy in this rapidly changing world?

If you answered mostly “yes” to these questions, then your practice is ready for the establishment of a social media presence.

If not, start by reading these posts:

Why Your Practice Needs a Facebook Page

Your Client Acquisition Funnel

Setting up Content Categories and Content Timetables for you Facebook Page