Sooner rather than later, your social media is going to need a reevaluation. Content grows stale, ads lose their relevance, and it’s hard to remember exactly what all of your budget is going to.
Poor social media strategy isn’t just going to cost you an audience. If you’re bringing in a massive and engaged audience but don’t have a cohesive plan for what goes on behind the scenes, that poor planning will catch up with you—often financially.
I recommend everyone do a bi-annual reassessment of their social media practices. As you’re doing it for your business, ask yourself the following critical questions.
Are You Spending Money on Forgotten Ads?
Are ads from six months ago still in your social media circulation? Forgotten ads are one of the biggest money-wasters in the marketing world, and all because we let them fly under the radar while thinking about the next step in our campaign.
Eventually, even a good ad will wear out its welcome, but if you don’t forget to end it, it’s going to drain your bank account the same way a slow but leaky pipe will inflate your water bill. Keep track of how your ads are performing, by whatever metric you find important, and once the ROI runs out, put the ad to bed and start circulating a new one.
Also be sure that for every ad, you’re looking at the analytics on your social media pages and scheduling it only for the times when you have a high volume of traffic. Think of it this way: if your ad is scheduled all day long, but 85 percent of your traffic is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., then why are you spending the money to keep an ad going where it’s likely no one will see it?
How can you know the best time to roll out your ad? Facebook Pixel can help you determine your traffic patterns and other significant data to aid in making these decisions. It will also measure the return, so you’ll know whether to keep an ad going or put it out to pasture.
Are You Paying For Too Many Services?
If you’re using multiple services or contractors to bring your social media together, reevaluate and consider how much of that you can bring in-house or complete on your own.
Having companies provide the things you need to run your campaign sounds like a dream, but expenses are going to start adding up fast. Suppliers aren’t cheap and we need to admit that a lot of the time, we’re paying outside sources to do the things we simply don’t want to do.
A good way to pare down is to take a comprehensive look at what services your suppliers provide. Chances are, you could at least fractionally cut costs just by getting all the services you need through one supplier.
This is also a good time to remind you to keep a running list of apps and platforms you’re trying out. Sampling a variety of project management tools makes sense, but don’t forget to clean house and end your subscription to ones that aren’t working out.
Are You Looking at Your Web Traffic?
Web traffic is the most valuable metric you have when it comes to running a successful social media campaign. It doesn’t just tell you volume but gives you a spectrum of analytics you can use to inform your campaign. If you aren’t using Google Analytics, start now.
Measuring your web traffic is especially critical if you’re putting money behind your ads. The following are just a few of the things you’re going to want to use your traffic analytics for.
- Cater your social media to suit your users based on age, location, and shopping patterns.
- Highlight and restructure your best content so you can use it repeatedly to engage visitors.
- Create targeted content that will drive engagement and boost your SEO.
- Use eCommerce reports to find out what kind of user is buying your product, and how to target more people like them.
If you aren’t looking at your web traffic, I can guarantee you’re spending more money or exhausting more resources than you need to. Don’t make things so difficult! Use the resources at hand to help your social media campaigns run smoothly and remain cost-effective.
Reassessing your social media strategy isn’t a sign of failure; it’s like getting a check-up from your doctor. You might not be feeling ill, but you can’t know if everything is running smoothly unless you take a look.
Christopher Tompkins is the co-founder, head strategist, and CEO of The Go! Agency. Christopher previously worked at marketing firms in the UK, South Africa, China, and the U.S. and his unique international experience has enabled him to work with customers from around the globe. His background in improv comedy enables him to think on his feet, and his competitive nature drives him to exceed client expectations.
Social media stock photo by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
