Social Media Checklist (SEMNE Digital Marketing Association)

2022-2023 Edition
Social Media
Checklist

Social Media
Marketing Cheat
Sheet for Beginners
Whitepaper
www.semne.org
SEO Checklist - Social Media Mktg Cheat Sheet Whitepaper (2022-2023 Edition)

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association

is providing free basic information
and is not responsible for any
results that are achieved based on
the advice contained within this
document.
Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation 2


In the old days of the internet, having a website was the bare minimum for
advertising a business online. Thanks to social media, that’s no longer true. If
your online marketing efforts are limited to a basic website, you’re missing out
on tons of great opportunities – and surely losing out big-time to the
competition.
Whether your business strictly operates online or also has a brick-and-

mortar location, you can’t afford to go without an active presence on social
media. Today, people expect businesses to be on Facebook, Twitter and other
social media platforms. If yours isn’t, it’s sure to be passed over by ones that
are.
Not On Social Media Yet? It’s Never Too Late
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed about marketing a business on social media if

you’ve never established a presence there. In fact, you may not use social
media personally, either. However, the most popular platforms are user-
friendly, allowing anyone to get up and running in no time flat. By following
the steps below, you’ll be able to establish a viable social media presence for
your brand before you know it. Going forward, you can use checklists to stay
on track with your social media marketing efforts.
Stay on Track with Social Media Checklists
With so many channels and ways to interact with users on them, it’s easy to
be overwhelmed by the prospect of marketing a business on social media. It
pays to create and follow checklists to keep yourself and your team on track.
Ideally, you should have a daily checklist, a weekly checklist and a monthly
checklist.
As you learn the basics of establishing a presence for your brand on social
media, remember that you’ll use checklists later to stay on top of your efforts.
You’ll quickly see how various tasks and techniques can be broken down into
bite-size pieces by the day, week or month, allowing you to make the most of
your marketing efforts across various social media channels.
Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association is providing free basic information and is 3
not responsible for any results that are achieved based on the advice contained within this document.

First Things First: Establishing a Social Media Presence
Just because you don’t have business profiles on social media

platforms yet doesn’t mean it’s too late. Your competitors may be well-
established on sites like Instagram and Twitter, but it’s not too hard to
play catch up since social media evolves at such a rapid pace.
Besides, the longer you wait, the longer it will be before you realize the
exciting benefits of social media marketing. By taking a measured
approach to the situation, you can develop profiles on critical social
media channels, accumulate followers and start harnessing the
incredible power of social media.
Regardless of the kinds of products or services you offer, there are sure
to be plenty of ways to engage with your target audience across various
channels. We’ve developed a 10-step process for establishing a
presence on social media. These 10 steps apply to companies and
brands of all sizes and scopes. They represent the basic things you need
to do to get the ball rolling with social media marketing.

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association is providing free basic information and is
4

1. Select Social Media Platforms for Your Brand
There are more social media platforms out there than ever. Which ones are
right for your brand?
Here’s the good news: You don’t have to be on all social media channels to
reap the rewards of social media marketing. In fact, it’s better to zero in on
the places where your target audience is most likely to spend time. To do
so, consider the demographics of your ideal customer. How old are they?
What kinds of pastimes do they enjoy? Also, consider the nature of the
products or services you provide. Are they geared toward the B2B
community, for instance?
To get you started, a few of today’s most popular social media platforms
include the following:
Facebook – With 2.9 billion active monthly users, Facebook reigns
supreme in the social media world. One of the best things about the
platform is that virtually everyone uses it, from young people to seniors.
Its broad reach means it’s a must for just about any brand or business.
Its advertising platform is the gold standard for social media marketing,
and it’s also effortless to use. If you own a brick-and-mortar business,
Facebook is one of the best ways to connect with local customers
looking for goods and services you provide. If nothing else, you should
take the time to develop a strong presence on this wildly popular
platform.
Twitter – Compared to Facebook, Twitter is remarkably streamlined and
simple, so this is a great platform for getting your feet wet with social
media marketing. You can set up a business profile on the site, which
boasts more than 217 million daily active users, in a matter of minutes
and start interacting with prospects right away. Without a doubt, Twitter
is the best social platform for providing online customer service, making
it easy for customers and others to interact with your brand. Once you’ve
set up your business profile, you can start experimenting with tweets,
hashtags and other staples of the platform.

5

Pinterest – Millennials adore this visual pinning social media platform. If

you’re trying to market to them, you can’t go without a strong presence
on Pinterest. This channel is handy for brands that want to showcase
their wares with bright, colorful imagery. People can easily “pin” posts
that appeal to them, saving them for later use. Therefore, you can quickly
develop a strong following by sharing posts and images on Pinterest. The
platform is very streamlined, making it easy to get up and running –
even if you’re not exactly savvy with social media.
YouTube – Although not a social media platform per se, YouTube has a
vast community of active users who share its content across many
major social media platforms. Google also owns it, so having a presence
there is a terrific way to gain more exposure on the world’s most
dominant search engine. Videos are among the best-performing types
of content across all social media channels, so it pays to create and
share them as part of your social media marketing strategy if it makes
sense for your brand.
Instagram – The dominant social media platform for visual content,
Instagram has more than 815 million active monthly users spanning
many ages and demographics. Facebook owns the platform, so you can
easily post between the two channels to kill two birds with one stone.
Unlike Facebook, you don’t have to create an in-depth profile for the site.
Instead, you can write a quick, informative bio and include a link to your
website or other social media sites. Instagram is easy to use and
provides another effective way to broaden your social media presence.
TikTok – A relative newcomer on the social media scene, TikTok is wildly
popular with teens and young adults. If you are marketing to younger
generations, you should seriously consider getting your brand on this
rapidly emerging platform. The gist of this channel is creating quick,
exciting videos for followers. Although these videos are usually for
entertainment, brands can get in on the action by developing fun pieces
that allow them to connect with a broader audience.

6

2. Complete Your Social Profiles
Signing up for a profile on a social media platform is just the first step. To
put the channel to work for your business, you need to create a compelling
and informative profile. Some platforms give you lots of leeway for doing so.
For example, you can include tons of information on a Facebook profile and
relatively little of it on an Instagram profile. Either way, it pays to provide as
much information as possible when completing profiles for your business.
The more content that’s out there about your brand, the more effective your
social media marketing efforts will be.
Each platform varies widely in terms of how its profiles work. However, at
the very least, here are a few things to do when setting up a new profile or
page on a social media channel:
Claim Your Business Name and URL – Ideally, you should be consistent
about the way your business name is listed across all social media
platforms. Likewise, you should try to use the same URL for all of your
profiles. If your business name is relatively short, you should be able to
use it across most URLs. If it’s longer or otherwise doesn’t lend itself well
to being used in a URL, come up with an abbreviated one and use the
same exact one across all platforms. Look everything over carefully to
ensure there are no errors. The major search engines like consistency
with business names and other information, so it’s wise to take your time
in this area.
Complete the Bio or About Section – Most social platforms limit how
much information you can share in the bio or about section. Use as
much space as you can, but make sure that every word counts. Include
helpful information about your business and brand, including your
location, hours of operation and offerings. If you are familiar with search
engine optimization, or SEO, use it to fill the description with relevant
keywords so that people can find your brand on the social platform more
easily.

7

Add Images to Your Profile – Finally, take advantage of any opportunities

the social platform provides for sharing photos on your profile page. Use
high-quality images that translate well to social media. Nothing is worse
than using grainy images that people can’t understand. Tools like Canva
are available for developing effective social media images, so
experiment with some of them to ensure that you put your best foot
forward across all social media platforms.
3. Establish a Voice for Your Brand
Before going live on social media, it pays to develop a distinct voice for
your brand that you can use across the internet and all social media
channels. Doing so creates a consistent image for your business, making it
easier for people to remember it and seek it out online. The right voice for
your business will depend on what your company does, who your target
audience is and other factors. At the very least, though, aim for something
with a bit of personality.
You can check out similar businesses online to see what kind of voice or
personality they use on social media. You’ll notice that brands use distinct
voices to come across more like humans than as big, nameless
corporations. Some companies even adopt sarcastic or edgy personas
because that’s what their audiences enjoy. These days, it’s also smart to “be
real” with customers. You’re more likely to get great results from your social
media marketing efforts with a personable approach.
4. Develop a Content Marketing Strategy
Now that you’ve selected the channels you want to use and have
established profiles on each, you can develop an overarching plan for your
social media marketing efforts. First, identify your main goals for advertising
on social media. If you want to promote your e-commerce business, use
social media to share vivid images of your offerings. If you want to highlight
your customer service, use social media to share updates about your
business, provide tips about your products and services and respond to
critiques about your brand.

8

5. Create a Content Calendar
Come up with a list of the types of content you’ll use to promote your brand
on social media. Examples include the following:
infographics
videos
blogs
articles
how-to guides
photos and graphics
live streams
From there, decide how often you will publish various types of content. Don’t
just leave it to chance. Use a calendar to schedule specific times for
publishing specific pieces.
Using a content calendar helps you stay on track with your social media
posting efforts. It makes it easier to post consistently and avoid reposting
old content accidentally. In turn, your social media presence stays fresh and
engaging, making it easier to connect with – and stay connected with –
your target audience.
6. Follow Others
You have to be a follower if you want followers on social media. Especially

in the beginning, you’ll want to devote a lot of time to following relevant
profiles on the channels you’ve selected.
Follow competitors to see what they’re doing and how they are harnessing
the power of social media. It’s also a great way to find people to follow your
page.
Follow brands that are relevant to your audience and what you are selling.
For example, if you have an e-commerce site selling women’s handbags,
follow brands in the women’s fashion realm.

9

When you see users in your target audience, start following them. Many
times, they will return the favor.
Finally, many social media platforms have suggestions for pages and
people to follow that are usually pretty useful. Check them out from time to
time to keep bringing new followers on board.
7. Monitor Social Mentions
Once your brand is out there on social media, you’ll want to put your feelers
out to see what people are saying about it. Luckily, you don’t have to
manually search for your brand on each platform to do that.
There are many tools available that streamline the process of monitoring
mentions across all social media platforms. For example, Sprout offers a
Smart Inbox tool that makes it easy to track mentions. Investigate the most
popular options to find one that works for you.
Once you have a way to monitor mentions, put it to use by reacting and
responding to people who mention your brand. Doing so will show that you
are engaged with your audience and readily available to interact with them
– all great ways to expand your reach on social media.
8. Engage with Others
Social media is all about interacting with others, so you need to get into the
habit of engaging with other people and brands across the channels you
are using. Make a point of responding to comments on your posts, and be
especially diligent about responding constructively to criticism. Share
others’ posts when it makes sense, and retweet relevant information with
appropriate hashtags. You can show other users that your brand is active
and engaged on social media in just a few minutes per day.

10

9. Promote Your Social Media Profiles
Even if your profiles are complete and you are interacting with others, you
still need to actively promote your social media pages if you want any real
traction from them. A few great ways to do so include the following:
include your social URL on printed marketing materials
tell customers in your brick-and-mortar store about your social media
pages
include your social URL on email signatures and in email newsletters
add your social URLs to the header and footer of your website
cross-promote your social media profiles across different channels and
platforms
10. Monitor Your Progress
Even if you devote tons of time and effort to your social media marketing
campaign, you may not end up with much to show for it. Therefore, it’s
essential to use analytics and other tools to gauge the success of your
social media efforts.
The right analytical tools will help you identify crucial information about
how your social media posts are performing, how many people you are
reaching and overall audience engagement. You’ll gain insights into which
content is working and which isn’t, allowing you to hone and optimize your
efforts on an ongoing basis.
Analytical tools let you stay on top of your brand’s progress on social
media so that you don’t waste your time doing things that don’t work. You
may learn, for example, that your audience engages with videos more than
written content; in the future, you can post more videos and come up with
new ways to develop engaging ones that your audience will love.

11

Use Checklists to Stay on Top of Your Social Media Efforts
With the basics out of the way, you’re on your way to

establishing an effective presence on social media.
Unfortunately, businesses often put in a lot of work at first and
then slowly but surely stop posting as frequently on their
preferred channels. To avoid this issue, use social media
checklists from the start to keep things moving along.
Benefits of Using Checklists for Social Media Marketing
A few of the primary benefits of using checklists for your social media
marketing efforts include the following:
Stay Organized – By completing and using daily, weekly and monthly
checklists, you always know what you need to do to keep your social
media efforts on track.
Be More Streamlined – Using a checklist lets you be streamlined about
the situation instead of guessing and wondering when and how to post
content on social media. The more you use checklists, the easier things
will become.
Post Consistently – The most successful social media strategies are
consistent. Checklists serve as helpful reminders to post content on an
ongoing basis, which helps bolster your visibility across social media
channels.
Prioritize Tasks – By using daily, weekly and monthly checklists, you can
focus on what matters at any given time, ensuring that the most
important tasks are done first. You’ll waste less time on things that aren’t
as important and ensure that the most effective tasks are completed on
time.
Avoid Having Things Fall Through the Cracks – Finally, checklists hold you
accountable for your social media efforts, reducing the risk of forgetting
to do important things like following up with social mentions or posting
important information for followers.

12

Weekly Social Media Checklist
Once a week, set aside time to look at the bigger picture of your social
media efforts. Here’s an example of the kinds of things you’ll want to include
in a weekly checklist:
connect and engage with influencers in your niche
perform a weekly goals check-in to determine your progress across
various areas
check your weekly stats to see how your social media efforts are faring
have a brainstorming session for new ways to market your brand on
social media
check any social media ad campaigns and update them as necessary
curate relevant content from across social media to share with followers
attend in-person or virtual events, chats and sessions about the latest
social media engagement techniques
Monthly Social Media Checklist
Once a month, complete a monthly checklist of social media marketing

tasks to ensure that your campaign unfolds effectively throughout the year.
The following is an example of the kinds of things you’ll want to include in
your monthly social media checklist:
perform social media audits of all profiles across all platforms
assess your progress for the monthly goals that you set the previous
month
have a monthly check-in with your team to discuss your progress and
brainstorm new ideas for the weeks ahead
map out the upcoming month by updating your content calendar
update your monthly social media strategy to continue working toward
new and existing goals

13

Harness the Power of Social Media Marketing Today
As you can see, social media marketing is easy enough for practically
anyone to do. Even if you don’t use it personally, you can quickly get up to
speed to use it as a powerful marketing tool for your business. By relying on
checklists, you’ll be able to stay on top of everything and continually
improve your efforts. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying incredible returns
on your investment, so get started today!

14

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2022-2023 Edition

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation 2

Whether your business strictly operates online or also has a brick-and-

Not On Social Media Yet? It’s Never Too Late

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed about marketing a business on social media if

Stay on Track with Social Media Checklists

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

First Things First: Establishing a Social Media Presence

Just because you don’t have business profiles on social media

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

1. Select Social Media Platforms for Your Brand

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Pinterest – Millennials adore this visual pinning social media platform. If

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

2. Complete Your Social Profiles

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Add Images to Your Profile – Finally, take advantage of any opportunities

3. Establish a Voice for Your Brand

4. Develop a Content Marketing Strategy

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

5. Create a Content Calendar

You have to be a follower if you want followers on social media. Especially

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

7. Monitor Social Mentions

8. Engage with Others

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

9. Promote Your Social Media Profiles

10. Monitor Your Progress

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Use Checklists to Stay on Top of Your Social Media Efforts

With the basics out of the way, you’re on your way to

Benefits of Using Checklists for Social Media Marketing

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Weekly Social Media Checklist

Monthly Social Media Checklist

Once a month, complete a monthly checklist of social media marketing

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Harness the Power of Social Media Marketing Today

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

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