Whether you should or shouldn't be on social media is no longer a question in today's business landscape, but rather, how, with who, and what platform? Presence is important but no longer enough by itself – you need to pair it with a strategy. That is of course if you want the best return on your investment of time and resources.

Having a winning strategy (with goals) is what delineates the social pros from the social amateurs. Sysomos is a social media management and analytics company that shares 8 ways to build and grow your brand using social.

1] Determine your goals

Engaging on social media without a goal is like getting in the car without a destination. You might have fun or even "get lucky," but will you get what you want?

2] Identify your brand persona

Translating your brand's values, personality, and voice into the social world is critical to educating your consumer about who you are, what you do, and why they should care. Your company's values and voice should be synonymous offline and online.

3] Choose your platforms

Gone are the days of signing up for everything. It's more strategic and effective use of your time/resources to go where the people are, and specifically, your people i.e. your niche while also considering the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and how they line up with your brand.

4] Get a social media community manager

Most small business owners don't necessarily have the time or expertise to oversee the day-to-day duties of social media. And in many medium-sized companies, adding it to a staff member's plate of an already loaded list of responsibilities might keep the light on, but it may not necessarily move the needle. Treat this as you would any other specialized task that requires a specialized skill set.

5] Take control of your customer service

Social media is an opportunity to market how you serve people and handle various complaints and situations. Chances are very likely that other people will have the same question or concern. Your brand's reputation is always at stake here so treat it accordingly and make every customer service follow-up a home run.

6] Have a crisis management plan

Because social media is always on all of the time and literally accessible to the world, we know all too well that it takes just one post/tweet to create a firestorm. Whether your company caused the crisis or not, or if say the President of the United States decides to call your company out on Twitter: have a game plan with prescripted responses, a clear chain of command, and delegated point-persons that can address the issue promptly and decisively.

7] Build relationships with the media

Building a brand also means building relationships. Cultivate these relationships with journalists, bloggers, and other industry experts on social media that you can leverage them when needed. Bloggers and journalists generally like to know what's going on and this can create a win-win value-added proposition for you and them.

8] Find the influencers

"A social media influencer is someone with a lot of online clout who leads conversations and shapes opinions about organizations and brands." Who are the industry experts in your circle of influence? Do you have employees that serve as ambassadors for your product or brand? What about your most enthusiastic customers that post and talk about your products and services? Major influencers are active on social media with a strong and faithful following. Their recommendations will weigh heavily with consumers that you are trying to reach. Explore if there is an opportunity to add value to their following via your products/services and for your brand via their influence.

This article originally appeared here: 8 Ways To Build Your Brand Using Social Media