When you are planning the marketing activities for your business these days, it’s important for you to focus on online marketing. And when it comes to online marketing, there’s no way you can keep social media out. It is almost everywhere these days and you will need to integrate it in your online marketing plan. And social media marketing is sure to fetch great results for your business.

But even when you have included social media to perform online marketing for your business, you find that you are not getting the desired results. “Where did you go wrong?” You might be asking this question to yourself.

It will be even better if you ask yourself a few more questions to find the reason.

Did you chalk out a proper marketing plan with social media? Did you create a social media marketing business planner?

If you haven’t, you just can’t expect your social media marketing endeavors to deliver proper results.

So, are you planning to create a social media marketing business planner? If you want the best results, better you ask a few questions before planning it.

Why are You Using Social Media?

This is probably the first and the most important question that you should ask when you are planning to create a social media marketing business planner. It’s the answer to this question that will determine all your social media activities. And the answer itself is determined by the nature of your business. You might want to use social media to:

• Promote your business
• Spread the word about your brand
• Interact directly with your customers

No matter what you do, your aim will be to use the social media in such a way that it helps to solve the problems of your customers.

What are the Best Social Networks for Your Business?

What kind of business do you have? Is it a startup? Is it small or a large one? There are numerous social media websites on the internet. But it makes no sense to be present on all of them. Instead, you should choose a specific few and try to be active on them. It will help you make an impactful online presence. Check out the most effective social media websites. For example, no matter what your business deals in, you need to be present on Twitter for the best results. But you should choose the other social media platforms depending on the type of your business.

Should You Maintain a Blog?

The answer to this question depends primarily on the size of your business. Although not a social media platform in the true sense of the term, a blog can have excellent impact on businesses. If your business is a small one, a blog is a must.

So, how blogging can help your small business?

It can come in handy for you in multiple ways. A blog can help:

• Your business to create a web presence.
• To make your website search engine optimized.
• To develop relationships with your customers, both existing and potential ones.
• To share your knowledge and expertise with others.
• To create a free online presence to connect with potential customers.

If you are creating a social media marketing business planner, it is essential that you include blogging in it.

What Type of Content is Suitable for Social Media?

While seeking an answer to this question, ask yourself another question in return. What are the social media website where you have your presence? It is going to play a major role in determining the type of social media network that you might need.

If you have presence on websites, such as Instagram, Google Plus, Pinterest, Facebook and others, you should go for visual content. These social media platforms offer the perfect chance to share images or videos. So, you should follow the old adage, ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ and share visual content here. Short videos are also gaining ground as a great form of content on social media platforms.

But if you have an active presence on Twitter, you should focus on using images as well as text. And also ensure that in addition to posting your own tweets, you are also retweeting relevant posts made by others.

It has been observed that certain types of content, such as images, short videos, questions, links, tips, and others perform well on social media.

When and How Often Should You Post on the Social Media Platforms?

This is one of the trickiest questions to answer. When you are determining the number of posts that you should make on social media, you need to keep a few things in mind. You have to select the time of the posts prudently as well. It makes no sense to post an update on social media when none of your potential audience will be able to see them. It is better you choose the most appropriate time when all of them will be active on social media.

Remember, just a single post a day on a social media platform is never going to be enough. Just a single post is sure to be overlooked by your target audience. You should rather try to post it four to five times at least during the whole day.

Asking these questions will help you create your social media marketing business planner from scratch and achieve great results within a short time.