The foundation to any marketing project is asking – and answering – the right questions, and social media projects are no different. Here are the questions I work through with my clients when we work on building their social media presence. These are tailored for non-profits, but with very small modifications, they’d apply to any organization.

1. What are your goals for the social media campaign? Some responses could be: sell something, increase awareness, get support for a cause, raise funds, keep in touch with your audience.
2. Who is your audience? For non-profits, it could be donors, volunteers, people who need our services, members of the community, employees, event attendees
3. What are the typical demographics of your audience? Different demographic groups use social media differently.
4. What social media platforms does your audience use? It would be best if you ask them directly, via surveys or other outreach programs. If you can’t do that, make your best guess based on demographics and watching your results.
5. What are the three main messages you want to communicate? You don’t need to limit yourself too strictly to staying on topic, but make sure most of your posts are somehow related to your main messages.
6. Do you have a clear, simple call to action? Do you want people to donate money, sign up for something, buy a product? Then ask them as clearly as you can!
7. How can you present your message in an interesting way – especially using graphics or videos, which dramatically boost engagement?
8. How much time and money do you have to set up a social media presence? Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s better to do fewer platforms better than to try to be on every social media platform.
9. Do you have a system in place to respond promptly to comments and messages? Social media is first and foremost a platform for conversation. So you need to hold up your end of the conversation by monitoring all your platforms and responding very promptly to questions, comments, and especially complaints if you get them.
10. How can you share your content across social media platforms, as well as your newsletter, website, etc.? I’m a big believer in using all your content several different ways. Here’s how I do it.

If you keep your answers to these questions in mind as you create your social media plan and content, you’ll have a much better chance of building a social media presence that truly represents your organization and achieves your goals.