For a brand or business, social media marketing is no longer an option. It’s a requirement. It’s where you want to be to engage, influence, and convert with so many demographics engaged across social networks on a worldwide scale.
Look at these figures from the Digital 2022: Global Overview Report to discover why.
- Nearly 60% of the world’s population uses social media, with 4.6 billion active users.
- The average amount of time spent on social media every day is 2.27 hours.
- TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram users have increased in 2022.
- Each month, people use an average of 7.5 platforms.
What is a social media strategy?
Simply put, a social media strategy is a document that lays out your social media objectives, the strategies you’ll employ to attain them, and the metrics you’ll use to assess your progress.
It isn’t necessary for your strategy to be complicated. What you need is a concise, specific plan with concrete goals. This will assist you in determining which channels and approaches are effective vs those that are not.
Finally, your social media strategy should increase brand visibility and engagement for your target audience(s) across social media channels.
What are the advantages of putting together a social media strategy?
You may have had a successful social media campaign or received a lot of positive feedback on your material. That one-time success is possible. Consistency, on the other hand, is the most difficult aspect of social media marketing. Do you know why that campaign or post was successful? Is it simple to duplicate?
It may be intimidating to consider developing a social media strategy, but it will provide your company with numerous practical benefits, such as:
- A plan for all your social media endeavors
- Raising brand awareness
- Provide social customer service and assistance.
- Targeting across audiences should be improved.
- Increase and direct website traffic
- Customize content
- Increase the number of high-quality leads
- Create chances for social media influencers
- Share your one-of-a-kind content that has the potential to go viral (remember the ALS ice bucket challenge?)
- Make social commerce and shoppable posts available
- Analyze and measure data
What actions should you take to create an effective social media strategy?
The following are seven steps to developing a successful social media strategy:
1. Define your company’s objectives.
It’s worth devoting attention to this stage because the rest of your approach will be determined by how well you comprehend and define your social media goals.
Consider what your company hopes to achieve using social media, and keep in mind that marketing and business goals are not the same. Is it to raise brand exposure in the marketplace, gain a better understanding of your consumer, grow your following, or produce more leads? You may wish to reach all these goals, but it’s important to keep track of them all because they’ll need distinct social media strategies.
Define your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while setting your goals to decide which social media analytics are important.
Set metrics for each social media channel you use to be effective. Reach, engagement, and impressions are vital on Facebook, but interactions and discovery are important on Instagram.
You may track audience growth rate, amplification rate (the rate at which users share your content), and virality rate in addition to basic data. You can track progress using a variety of metrics, so choose the ones that are most important to your company.
4. Do some audience research.
You need to know who your audience is and what they want before you can produce customized messaging and content. Conducting market research through online surveys, customer interviews, or setting up a focus group is the best method to do this.
5. Find out who your competitors are.
Competitor analysis is a vital part of your social media marketing plan. It allows you to see what your competitors are up to in the social sphere, such as which platforms they use and which ads they execute.
You can also see their messaging, the stuff they produce, and the frequency with which they post. You may either replicate or take a different approach to capturing customers’ attention by learning how they engage with customers and the success of that engagement.
6. Select your social media platforms.
The question isn’t whether you should be on social media; its which channels are ideal for your company.
Facebook: As one of the most popular and oldest social media sites, Facebook provides a tailored way to interact with prospects and consumers. Many sorts of content work well on this platform, and Facebook Live allows you to communicate with clients via video.
Instagram: The ideal visual platform, Instagram has witnessed massive growth in recent years and continues to be a success with younger people. It’s a fantastic way to promote your items and interact with influencers in order to expand your consumer base. Customers will be able to purchase on the platform with in-app purchasing coming to Instagram soon through shoppable posts.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the place to be for B2B enterprises, but it also offers B2C chances. It allows firms to connect both naturally and through sponsored advertising in the B2B arena. Blogs, whitepapers, eBooks, and industry-related information all perform well on this platform.
Twitter: Because Twitter is a real-time network, your material must be current and relevant. It may be a good customer support medium for businesses because it allows for quick responses and hashtags help users find fresh and trending material. It takes practice to use hashtags effectively across social media platforms, so take your time learning how to do so.
TikTok: TikTok is a terrific area for video content because it is one of the fastest-growing social media networks. It’s known for its short-form and funny videos, and it’s rapidly growing as a platform that may be utilized for marketing. You can’t top TikTok for user-generated content, and it’s a terrific venue for influencer partnerships.
YouTube: Right now, someone somewhere is watching a YouTube video. That’s how well-liked it is! It’s a marketer’s dream since it allows them to connect with customers in a way that gives both information and fun. This could be the platform for you if you’re a company that makes a lot of videos, especially how-to or tutorial videos.
Pinterest: It’s all about social discovery on Pinterest. It’s a location where people can be inspired by photos and videos. Its millions of pins range from home décor to recipes, and it’s fantastic for content curation, similar to a social mood board.
7. Make a content strategy.
It’s time to think about your content and strategy now that you’ve done your research and chosen the correct social media networks.
Let’s have a look at how to plan your content in simple steps:
- Make your pages have a consistent tone. The tone of your brand is how you want the rest of the world to perceive and interact with it. Are you a formal or a casual person? Do you have a sense of humor or is your company more serious? Each platform has its own personality, so do you want to speak to each one differently to show off your brand’s identity?
- Create content buckets or themes for your material. Examine your unique selling proposition to find what content topics or buckets you can develop. If you’re a travel resort or hotel, for example, you might set up a wellness content bucket to highlight your spa and healthy dishes. Another content bucket might be about your location; what makes it unique and interesting, for example, is the fauna or scenery. There are some excellent tools available to help you with content development.
- Make a content schedule. It’s critical to post on social media on a regular basis, and a calendar can help you stay organized, especially if you’re publishing on many channels. There are best days and hours for each network, so keep that in mind when deciding when to publish on TikTok and when to post on Instagram.
- Create a plan for your material. It’s challenging to keep up with the fast pace of social media and sticking to a plan is essential for consistency if you post often.
8. Keep track of and interact with your community.
The beauty of social media is that it allows people to connect with one another, and these connections can grow into communities. Communities are fantastic for increasing engagement and brand recognition.
An engaged community is fantastic for generating brand champions and attracting new clients. However, because a community requires nurturing, you must first develop it and then nurture it.
Being responsive is an important part of maintaining and engaging a social media group. If a customer has a question or a comment, respond swiftly and courteously. There will certainly be complaints as social media grows more prevalent as a means for customers to communicate. To avoid a social media catastrophe, make sure to respond pleasantly and find out how you can improve their experience.
Ask questions in the form of polls or surveys to engage your audience. It not only makes them feel like they’re a part of the community, but it may also help you learn more about your client base.
9. Grow your following.
It’s pointless to have a social media channel if you’re not gaining new followers. Growing your audience is a crucial aspect of any social media plan, and you’ll need to employ methods to do so.
You can build your audience in one of two ways: naturally or through sponsored advertising. For starters, content is critical because it will assist in attracting users and increasing engagement. You might, for example, hold a contest or show behind-the-scenes footage of what it’s like to work for your company.
Always keep in mind that you can promote one platform on another. Your Facebook fans, for example, might be interested in your Instagram feed. To prove the impact, promote a post that sends users across channels.
You can set a daily budget for sponsored advertising and target a certain group of people. Make use of a paid media campaign tracker to keep track of all your campaigns. Working with influencers to promote one of your items is also an option. If you’re a restaurant or bar attempting to bring customers in the door, micro-influencers can be incredibly effective, especially at a local level. You can also employ public relations to increase traffic to your social media platforms by issuing a press release or obtaining an article in a relevant magazine.
Want to create an awesome social media strategy for your business? Get started today with SwaysEast.
