Social media marketing can be overwhelming and you may be tempted to jump in and start posting. But wait! First you need to create a social media strategy.
The goal of a social media strategy is to help you reach your overall business goals. For example, if your goal is to increase sales, then part of your social media strategy should include posting content that drives traffic back to your website or landing page. This helps the user find the information they need and purchase more products or services from you.
By creating a strategy, you’ll save yourself time and effort – and your audience will see that you’re serious about creating engaging content. In this post, we’ll lay out everything you need to know about creating a successful social media marketing strategy for your business.
Determine who your audience is
The first step is to determine who your audience is. Knowing the demographics and psychographics of your audience, as well as what kind of content is popular with them will help you create a social media strategy that speaks to their needs and interests.
Choose which networks you want to be on
Choosing which networks to be on can be a big decision for your business. Here are some things to consider:
- What is the right size of your audience? How many people are actively following you, and how many are likely to do so in the future?
- Which networks do they use? Are they on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? Maybe LinkedIn? TikTok? Or maybe all of them!
- How relevant is this platform to what you’re trying to accomplish as a business? If someone wants information about home improvement projects, would Pinterest be a good place for them to go looking for ideas and inspiration? Or would they prefer YouTube videos because that’s how they learn best when it comes out of their own mouths instead of through text-heavy articles online?
Set goals for your social media strategy
The first step to creating a social media strategy is to define the problem. Before you can solve it, you have to know what it is! At this point, your goals should be specific and measurable.
- Are your followers growing at an acceptable rate?
- Is engagement on your posts high enough?
- Do people feel like they should pay attention when you post something new?
If any of these answers are “no” or “I don’t know,” then it may be time for some reflection. You want to set goals for your business that are ambitious but realistic within a certain timeframe (3–6 months). This will help keep you motivated and moving forward with purpose instead of getting stuck in the weeds trying to figure out how everything works at once.
Decide who will manage your channels
You don’t need to hire a full-time employee for this task, but you do need someone who is responsible for managing your accounts—and that person needs to have the time and knowledge necessary to take care of them effectively.
Create a content calendar and plan ahead
You may be surprised to learn that many of the most successful brands create their content calendars months in advance. This helps them ensure that their brand is consistent across all platforms and avoids having to scramble last minute, which can lead to delays and mistakes.
Planning ahead also saves you time and energy, allowing you to spend more time on social media than ever before, with better results as well!
The first step in creating your own content calendar is deciding what types of posts will go into it. There are many different ways to categorize your content, but here’s one way:
- Posts about your product or service
- Posts about industry news or trends
- Posts related directly to other companies
Schedule time for engagement, too
Another important part of a social media strategy is scheduling time for engagement. Engagement is about more than just you, it’s about your audience. You should not only be posting content, but also responding to comments, liking posts, and sharing other people’s content. This will show that you care about their experience with your brand and want to participate in it.
It can also be helpful to schedule time for replying to emails from customers who have questions or complaints about products or services that they’ve purchased from your company (though this may depend on how many emails are coming in).
Gather analytics, provide an analysis and make adjustments accordingly.
It’s important to gather analytics, provide an analysis and make adjustments accordingly.
If you’re not sure what your audience wants or how they engage with content on social media, the first step is to do some research. Look at their interactions with other brands and organizations that have similar goals as yours.
Identify what platforms are useful for sharing information and which ones aren’t working so well. For example, if you’re trying to reach millennials who are interested in sustainable products but most of them don’t use LinkedIn as a medium for sharing ideas and news about sustainability, then it doesn’t make sense for you to be spending time there! Instead, focus on the places where your audience is hanging out.
Conclusion
If you’re ready to get started, I recommend using these tips as your guide on how to create a social media strategy. It can be overwhelming at first—especially if you feel like there are too many networks out there and don’t know which ones will work best for you. But remember, this is just like any other marketing strategy: it will take time and effort to create an effective plan that works well for your business needs! If you need help with your social media strategy, reach out here.