Social media has become a key component to enhancing your business’ success… which means that you need to be intentional about it!
Building a social media strategy simply means that you are being purposeful with your marketing mission, summarizing everything you want to do and achieve through your social media platforms.
Crafting an effective social strategy can be a bit daunting, so we’re here to help – here are 9 steps to create a successful and attainable social media strategy.
1. Make Your Goals
Defining your goals ensures that your social media progress is trackable. We recommend using S.M.A.R.T. goals: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. For instance:
We will use Instagram to grow our brand, working to increase Instagram Story views by 10% in the next two months.
To start, make three goals for your social media, focusing less on followers and likes, and more on audience engagement and conversion rates.
2. Know Your Audience
Speaking of your audience, it’s important to learn as much about them as you can.
What age, demographic, income level, industry, and interests are common for your target audience? The more you know, the more you can appeal to them.
You can also gather data about the social media platforms that your ideal clients use; if your target is 65+ years old and in a rural area, then you might want to try Facebook instead of LinkedIn.
3. Study Your Competitors
Just like you need to know your audience, you need to know your competition.
You can conduct a competitive analysis to learn more about your industry, as well as what your competitors are doing well and poorly in.
Take inspiration from their success, while looking for opportunities to advance beyond your competition.
4. Try a Social Media Audit
If your business is already established, then it’s likely that you’ve been using social media to market it. In this stage, you can reflect on what’s been working and what hasn’t.
Think about: engagement levels, the networks your target audience uses, and how you rank in comparison to your competitors.
Also be on the lookout for imposter accounts, or fake accounts that are using your name. Make sure to report them, as this will increase your account’s credibility.
5. Take Action!
Now that your framework has been established, it’s time to set up, or enhance, your accounts.
The way you use your individual social media platforms may differ, depending on your audience’s preferences, so you can craft a mission statement for each platform:
We will use Instagram for high-quality graphics and promotional content, and Twitter for customer engagement and service.
And remember, make sure your profiles utilize keywords, brand logos, and have all of the fields filled out.
6. Find Content Inspiration
Now that you’re ready to reinvigorate your accounts, you can call upon the successes of your competitors and other businesses… and try to do it better. Look at your favorite accounts for inspiration too.
You can also ask your followers for inspiration: what do they care about and want to see more of?
7. Make a Content Calendar
Your posting plans have to be executed now, which can be challenging. To ensure that your posts are consistent, schedule when you are going to make and post them!
When brainstorming for your content, we’d recommend using the 80-20 rule:
80% of your posts should educate/entertain, while the other 20% can directly promote your offers.
8. Craft Your Content
Your accounts are set up, you’ve been inspired, and you have a schedule in place. Now for the fun part – you get to post stuff!
Utilizing your goals and mission statements for your platforms, create content that aligns with them… because if it aligns with your data-driven mission statements, it should appeal to what your audience wants and needs.
9. Track and Retry
Now that you’ve started implementing your new strategies, it’s important to regularly check that they are working.
Your social media accounts should have analytics you can view, and you can use UTM parameters to track your social and website engagement.
Ideally, you should be checking and testing your accounts once a week, to ensure that the ever-changing trends of social media work in your favor. And don’t be afraid to change and rework your strategy as needed!
We hope that these 9 steps will help your social media marketing flourish and thrive!
If you want more advice and expertise, give us a call today and we’ll help you craft the perfect social media strategy for you!
