It is important to understand that social media is widely embraced, primarily as a way to maintain interpersonal relationships and enjoy a wide variety of entertaining experiences. When marketers lose sight of these two basic concepts, performance tends to diminish.

Let's be clear. Social media is not advertising. While it can be used to deliver advertising messages adjunct to other promotional campaigns, using it solely to ask viewers to make a purchase overlooks incredibly valuable opportunity and minimizes impact.

The most favorable results are being achieved through creative storytelling, highlighting relatable moments, sharing news and ideas, posting memorable videos and memes and inviting customer-generated testamonials. In this way, social media invites engagement, sparks discussion and creates community.

Depending on the nature of content being deployed, results are typically quantified by numbers of followers, likes, comments, shares and/or click-throughs. To record high numbers and generate successful outcomes, there are a few key factors that should always be considered.

Know your audience. Make sure your content is age, gender and lifestyle appropriate.

Demonstrate value through creative storytelling. To paraphrase a well-known advertising saying, tell stories about the sizzle, not the steak.

Let your customers offer ideas and opinions. Run a contest. Ask for testimonials. Post their photos.

Give your employees a voice. You never know what sorts of stories, photos or opinions they might contribute.

Less is more. Limit your posts to high quality content. Don't waste everyone's time with a flood of insipid or meaningless messages.

Track your content. Identify which posts work best. Offer friendly and constructive replies and comments whenever needed.

A well-conceived marketing plan should include social media. This being said, it takes more than one promotional tactic to build a brand, grow its audience and increase sales.

Jeffrey Spear has been creating culinary brands, implementing effective marketing plans, writing about food, developing recipes and producing cookbooks for more than 40 years. If you're looking to enhance the impact of your marketing program, including social media, or simply need someone to tell your story in ways that are visually and emotionally appealing, give us a call: 866 787 8761 - ask for Jeff - or shoot us an email: jeff@studiospear.com