Congratulations! You’ve taken that brave, exciting first step and decided that you must utilise social media in your brand’s marketing arsenal. You’ve configured your Facebook Page, your Twitter profile is looking snappy and LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest are next on your ‘to do’ list.

Welcome! You’re going to have a lot of fun.

So… now what?

Success in social media takes hard work, and a lot of it. There are no quick fixes or ‘get rich now’ solutions. You have to put in the hours. You have to engage your audience. And to do that, you have to have a plan.

This infographic from BigThunk and Number 8 Communications proposes four steps to a social media strategy.

1. Define your goals – what are you trying to accomplish?
2. Define your metrics – how will you measure success?
3. Decide on tactics – what can you do to help accomplish your goals?
4. Execute your strategy – then measure and refine

(Source: BigThunk, Number 8 Communications. Strategy image via Shutterstock.)