Stephanie Donelson

As a social media manager I’ve been asked more times than I can count, “Why aren’t we on X network?”

Sometimes the question is valid and sometimes I want to reply by asking, “Do we sell to teenagers? Because that’s who’s on that network. It makes no sense for us to maintain a presence there when no one will engage with us.”

Now, I’m not saying that’s the right reply depending on your line of business. You work at Abercrombie & Fitch? Then it makes sense to be where the teens are! But one thing I’ve learned that comes in handy for these types of conversations, typically with people outside of marketing, is to have use cases created for each social media channel. 

By creating these use cases, you can quickly prove why you do or do not belong on certain channels based on your organization’s goals. 

What to include in a social media use case

So, what belongs in your use case? Use these questions to guide your use case and defend your position on why you’re on a social media network – or why you aren’t.

Audience

• Do our buyer personas use this network?
• If they do, what do they do on here and what do they talk about?
• Does our content fit those conversations?
• Does your audience want you on this channel?
• Is our competition on this channel?
• Is the network established or a new trend that’s finding its identity?
• How does it benefit our brand to be on this network?

Goals

• What’s our main objective with this channel? To act as customer support? To educate current customers? To acquire new customers?
• How we will define success on this network? Will it be based on leads generated, number of followers, social media engagement, visits to the website, customer retention, new email subscribers, or something else?
• How will we prove our ROI for the time, resources, and content requirements for this channel?
• How and how often will we measure performance?
• Why would it make sense for our brand to have a presence here?

Content

• Will our content be perceived as valuable and relevant or spammy and irrelevant?
• Will the audience consume our content, engage with it, and take action on it?
• Do we have enough original content to share on a consistent basis?
• Do we have a crisis plan in place in case our content is ill-timed or poorly received? Do we know how to respond and control the conversation?

Essentially you can boil a use case down to the basics of journalism: The 5 Ws and the H:

• Who (audience)
• What (content)
• When (audience and content)
• Where (network)
• Why (goals)
• How (who will own this channel)

If you can’t answer who you’re sharing content with and why your brand should be on a specific channel, then you shouldn’t be there! It’s so much better to be on fewer networks but have a fully engaged following than to be on every network possible with poor quality posts and no reactions.

What else would you add to a social media use case? Tell me in the comments below!