How important is a strategy?

So many businesses venture out into the social media world without a strategy. Of course, large corporations and those who have been in the game for awhile have come to incorporate their social media activity in their overall marketing strategy. They have a game plan…and this is so important.

Like anything we do, if we do it blindly its likely to have minimal results. We struck gold here and there with the odd fluke and flurry of activity, but it's unlikely that the rewards will be consistent. So why is it that we fall into this trap?

The important thing to remember here is that there is a big difference between having a formal strategy and having no plan whatsoever…and I'm not by any means saying that somewhere in the middle of these two variables isn't a good place to sit.

A formal plan is often used by large corporations as they have the resources to conduct their marketing in such a way. Not only do they have the funds, but they also have more people focused on this goal and therefore more time to devote to strategising. In this sense each post has substantial thought before it is created, the times they post are researched to produce the best results and so on. But, the question here is…is this what every business must do in order to be successful?

My personal opinion? Not entirely, but they do have to have some form of strategy. If you're a small business it is unlikely that you will be able to devote this much time, energy and resources into your social media marketing, but it is important to incorporate it into the overall picture and give it the thought it deserves. Firstly, it is important to realise how much bang for your buck you can get by marketing online…and in keeping with this trial and error isn't a bad way for small businesses to start. You can easily look at your posts and see what type of content is producing results, the same as which time slot gives you the most activity. Take the time to evaluate what you post and how you post it. 

In this way, having a strategy is crucial…and incorporating it into your overall marketing strategy is simply the next level. And one that is highly advisable to take.