My colleague Anna Lee has built her blog “small thoughts, big ideas” around short and simple posts, with great takeaways.  I’ve modeled this post similarly, and would like to share my opinion regarding the single most important thing you should do before launching any social media campaign.

CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS OBJECTIVES.

Defining and setting objectives for your social media campaign may be the most important step in creating a solid plan. Here’s a few simple ways to help you develop objectives:

1) What do you want to accomplish? i.e. lead generation, additional traffic from social media, brand visibility… 

2) What does success in social media look like? i.e. revenue, larger following, customer service & satisfaction

3) How are you going to measure ROI and success from social media? i.e. customer feedback, sales figures

Asking these three simple questions can help to clarify your objectives and get everyone on the same page.  Remember to put the pieces together and communicate with your team, clients, or managers to solve the puzzle of what social media success within your business looks like. There’s no one simple answer, and this is a question you need to periodically ask and assess to ensure the ongoing performance of your social media efforts.

Do you agree? What’s your #1 piece of social media advice? Tweet me @MarissaPick, or leave a comment below 🙂