During my recent visit to Dubai, I met a client who’s a leading jewelery brand but doesn’t have an active presence on social media. They said that social media is the only medium that they did not try yet but are eager to explore it now. I asked WHY and they explained with good reasons as to why they want to be on social media. I was happy to discover that they had a clear vision and knew precisely why they wanted to be on social media and how it would benefit them.

But not many brands/businesses out there really know the reason as to WHY THEY ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA or WHY THEY WANT TO BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. In this article I try to help them find out.

Social Media seems to be the keyword no matter where you go or what you do. Facebook and Twitter profiles have become pseudo addresses of individuals. No wonder brands noticed this & immediately jumped on to the social media bandwagon.

But the question is how many are here because they want to be here. And even wanting to be here is not good reason to expect good returns from social media.

No matter what objective, no matter what your strategy is, you must first know the reason for being on social media. Asking WHY will help give you more clarity and define your purpose on the online platform.

Here are few questions that you must ask:

• Is my audience on social media?
• How active are they on social media?
• On which social platforms are they active?
• What are they talking about?
• Do they talk about my brand/business?
• Do they talk to my competitors?
• Which of my competitors are on social media?
• How are they using it?
• Will social media help me achieve my objectives?
• What returns can I expect?

Social Media has emerged as a new medium to market products and services and it’s not surprising that brands are leveraging it. But treating it as just another medium like TV, Radio, Print, etc. and not realising and understanding its true potential is a mistake which you make at your own risk. It’s not just about selling but more about building a community.

Hope this article helps you. If you have something to add, write to me.

Somesh Khandalkar works as an Online Marketing Consultant and is an avid social media blogger. You can follow him @isomesh on Twitter