A well thought out and executed social media marketing campaign can pay dividends for your company. It can boost your revenue while bringing in customers who would never have otherwise found out about your business. However, there are a few key points to consider before running into a big social media campaign, such as:

1) It will take a lot of time and work.

Much like any good marketing campaign, social media marketing isn’t something that you can just activate and expect to see immediate results. You will likely make a lot of mistakes during your first few weeks, but by being patient and persistent your campaigns will eventually start to move in the right direction.

2) It can be tough to know your return on investment.

It can be difficult to measure the return on investment that you garner from your social media marketing campaign. Firstly, you will need to know what you consider to be a “conversion”. Are you just looking to drive people to your website? Is a sale a conversion? Or are you just looking to boost your following? Without being sure of what you would like to track it can be difficult to know if your campaigns are working effectively.

3) Expect to spend some money.

Gone are the days when you could launch a social media campaign organically. Most social media websites will need you to run advertisements or promoted posts in order to see significant returns. Though this will certainly be costlier than organic growth, if done well it can lead to a positive return on your investment.

4) There is an element of luck to it.

Though you can plot a path to steady growth relatively easily, explosive growth will require a bit of luck. In order to experience viral growth you will need to have an influencer share your post, have a news organization report on it, or similar. You should not count on this happening as part of your growth strategy.

5) Some industries will be better suited to social media than others.

The success of your social media campaigns may depend on your industry. For some industries such as fashion, social media can be the perfect medium for growth. For a company such as a B2B insurance firm, a social media campaign may not work quite as well.

Though the road to success in social media can be long and trying, it is certainly possible. By understanding these 5 key points you will be well on your way to understanding how to grow your company’s social media presence.