Is creating a Facebook page a goal or an activity?

Often, in the course of a strategic planning process, people ask us to help them create a Facebook page for their business or initiative. They are confident that they want this page and have already mapped out when they’ll build it and when it will launch. They speak about this Facebook page as one of their goals.


We usually nod and ask them, “What do you hope to achieve with this Facebook page?”


They’ll pause and think and often answer, “We want fans.”


We’ll challenge them further. “What do you want to be different as a result of launching this Facebook page? How will creating this page contribute toward a business goal?”


Through our conversation we often find out that actually, maintaining the Facebook page is not a strategic goal for them - it’s an activity that should be supporting a higher-level goal. Just collecting fans and likes for their own sake does little to support goals of a business.


At this point, we advise clients to take a step back and start with their target audience. Does this audience even use Facebook? Perhaps another social outlet would better-reach the demographic in question. If Facebook is the best place to find their target audience, how do they plan to both attract fans and convert these fans to customers?


It’s important to think through WHY you want to engage in a specific activity, WHO it is for, and HOW it will support your strategic goals before taking it on.

---