When I work with food entrepreneurs on the development of business and marketing plans, social media always looms large.
Almost all entrepreneurs assume that social media is an automatic necessity when starting a new business. But that doesn’t mean that your social accounts should exist in a vacuum, without having to deliver positive and planned outcomes for your business.
A well run social account can deliver any of the following, alone or combined:
- Relevant reach – find the people whose lives you are making better, then tell them how you’re doing this.
- Customer Service – catch questions and communicate with customers
- Education – explain your product, your services. How to use, what makes you unique.
- Brand building – share your values, why you get out of bed in the morning, your “why”.
But whatever you do, whatever route you choose, make sure that you allocate a dollar value to your activities.
How much does it cost to run your accounts? How much do they have to earn to justify their existence? Ask yourself, if you’re spending $30k a year on social media, exactly how many products do you need to sell as a result of this to break even?
There will always be an investment phase at the beginning, but after 12 months it’s time to review and if need be, adjust to make sure you’re not running a vanity operation.
