19 8 / 2010
Social Media Strategy – Part 2: What audience are you trying to reach?
Today’s blog post is part two of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.
In Part 1 of our Social Media Strategy blog series, we explored the importance of connecting your social media initiative to your overall business goals. The next step is to determine who your social media program will target.
“Well, my social media program’s target audience is the same as my target customers, right?”
Yes, but there are nuances. Not everyone uses social media in the same way, nor do they always use the same tools. Your audience may be active on Twitter, but not on Facebook. Or your customers may prefer to read news about your company versus watching a video clip about your latest product.
Different social media tools attract different audiences as well. Twitter users engage in short, brief, 140-character bursts while members of a niche community site tend to consume longer-form content like blogs and video.
It’s important to gather intelligence on your audience and put on a lens that filters for social media habits. This data will guide you as you decide what social media tools to put resources behind and will increase rates of success and adoption.
For sample questions to help you dive deeper into your audience analysis, check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media. It also includes six additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!
