I want you to think of the last thing you posted on social media. Got it in your mind?

Why did you post it? What was the purpose of the post?

If you do not have a clear reason for why you posted something, it may be that you haven't defined the purpose of the content you post on social media.

Every social media post needs a call to action and a purpose that relates back to your company’s main objectives.

Why is your business on social media in the first place? This may sound like a silly question at first glance, but many businesses spend countless hours posting on social media without defining why. Nebulous answers like “raise brand awareness” and “improve visibility” will fail to produce meaningful results. Instead, get specific about why your business is on social media.

Below are a few examples of why a company might choose to be on social media. Most companies will be on social media for more than one reason.

We are on social media to:

• Drive people to a specific resource on our website

• Grow our email list

• Sell directly on social media

• Inspire people to widely share content to expand our reach to new markets

• Attract the attention of and engage with journalists

• Provide customer support

• Build community among a group of people or around a specific cause

What reasons can you think of that a company might want to be on social media? Leave your response in the comments below.

Knowing why your business is on social media will shape the rest of your social media strategy and content.

Now that you know why your business is on social media, consider how each post relates back to that objective.

Below is an example of what a company will post on LinkedIn that relates back to the following objectives:

• Grow their email list as an entry point into the sales pipeline.

• Expand exposure outside of current network and build credibility among target market.

• Provide useful content to the target market to establish the company as an expert, encourage people to comment and share.

• Build relationships with the target market online.

You can create a table like this for each social platform your company is on to define what you will post, the call to action and the purpose of each post.

Every social media post needs a call to action and a purpose that relates back to your company’s main objectives. Time is valuable. People don’t have time to scroll through content that is aimless and meaningless. Tell people what you can provide that will help them and what next steps to take.

Challenge for Marketers:

Map out your social media posts and plug in the resources you can provide, the call to action for each post and the purpose of each post.

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