No one succeeds by accident.  The best social media campaigns require hard work and strategy.  There are lots of different strategies, but here is a good one to start:

• Form hypothesis
• Select KPI
• Set Goal
• Execute
• Track Progress
• Socialize/Iterate – share your success/failures. 

Don't just "think" your social media is working, use analytics.  Track numbers, and adjust your strategy for better engagement.

Some great tools include:

• Native app analytics - almost all platforms have analytics in their own tool
• Private tools- There are third-party tools that help track multiple platforms in one place
  • Sumall: pulls it all together.
    • Freemium
    • Best part, compare channels
    • Automate events (like retweet thank yous)

A billboard isn't the same as a bus ad.  Where you post matters.

• Facebook: broad and varied? Can you post at least a couple times/week? Can you spend a small budget on Facebook as? Variety of types of content to share?
• Twitter: under 50, well educated, need daily posts, narrow focus.  18-34, tell compelling story in 3 min or less
• Linkedin- well educated, over 30, marketing to businesses/professionals? Specific industries, increase staff
• Instagram- under 50, under 30, visual stories
• Pinterest-female, evergreen content, sell a product

This is a real job, and takes a ton of time. This is like sending out mailers and flyers multiple times a week. Always assign ownership.  Assign metrics, targets, and hold people accountable.

Brand Voice: You need to have a consistent brand voice. Write it down! What you are and what you aren’t. Having this will make it easier for your followers engage.

Know who you're talking to.  Build audience personas of sample clients. Document it. Write your posts as if you were talking to them. Ask, "will Debra like this?” 

Don't do this for just one target.  Make a persona for all target audiences. Document how they are going to find your organization, how you are going to engage, what can you offer, and what do you want the follower to do?

To allow people to respond quickly without needing to hold a meeting, write down guidelines and rules on what to post, how to respond, and what is and isn't acceptable for your organization.

It's always better to be prepared.

No one likes a loud mouth.  Make sure you listen Social Listening
A great way to plugin to your networks and communities are:

• E-newsletters/Google Alerts – get triggers to comment to the world
• Twitter Lists – Basically google groups for twitter
• Analytics –
  
  • Facebook Insights
  • Twitter Analytics
  • Hashtag tracking – multiple tools to teach you more about the message and what it’s used for