By Cassy van Eeden

However, promoting a product or brand on social media is not as simple as posting as much and as often as you can afford to. Instead, the most profitable and rewarding social media interactions are those that are planned, focused and meaningful to your audience.

Have a plan

In order to avoid random, disconnected posts that often result in losing followers and likes, you should have a social media strategy in place that clearly defines when and where you are going to post, and more importantly, what you are going to post and why. This strategy should be factored in your overall PR plan.

Kevin Fagan, director of Kantar Media, says, "Planning ahead can seem time consuming but in the long run you’ll reap the rewards. The good news is it’s never too late to start." He adds that just as important as having a plan is revisiting it: "Revise your plan frequently, allow for innovation and creativity and also encourage rapid and flexible response to change."

It is important that your plan identifies who your audience is and what message you aim to get across to them. Catriona Pollard, author of From Unknown To Expert, says, It's important to define your audience from the beginning and keep it in mind while you progress."

Communications and content strategist, Maggie Patterson, says that your social media plan should also include when and how your brand will respond to specific events in your industry as well as feedback from your audience (both negative and positive).

"As industry-related stories break, social media offers the prime way for you to offer expert commentary and make an immediate impact on your audience," Patterson adds.

Set goals

Any PR plan includes goals and measurements that define whether or not something has been successful. The same should apply to your social media plan.

Director of Bruce PR, Laura Bruce, says: "So many companies I speak to want to start doing social media, or a blog, or making announcements, but they have not spent time thinking about where it is they want to go as an organisation."

Pollard says: "Before jumping into the deep end, take a moment to think about your goals and what you want to achieve from social media. Having a goal will help you to determine which platforms will be the most effective for boosting your profile, and to manage your time online."

Tailor your content

Audiences are quick to hit 'unfollow' as soon as they see content that is not relevant to them. It is for this reason that you content should be specifically tailored to your audience. Consider who your audience is, what kind of people they are and what they are interested in. This will help you make wiser decisions as to when and what to post.

Public relations consultant and contributor for Forbes.com, Robert Wynne, says, "The last thing you want to do is simply take a press release and post it to a social network." He adds, "It's much better to tailor your announcement in a human way for each social network your audience will care about."

What are your thoughts? How do you plan your social media interactions? Let us know in the comments below.