How to create a social media marketing strategy
There are seven steps to create a successful and effective social media marketing campaign. It is a relatively simple process, but you should do plenty of research and make sure that your strategy suits your business and your goals. This will place you and your business on the path to continued success. The steps to a successful social media strategy are outlined below.
1. Evaluate your business and goals.
The first thing you must do is to take a look at your business and what, if anything, you are already doing with social media marketing, then determine your goals. A helpful way to organize your goals is the one-year, five-year, 10-year format, where you outline where you would like to be with your social media in one, five and 10 years. You can adjust this method to be shorter chunks of time if you prefer.
2. Research your audience.
The second step is to thoroughly research your audience and customers so that you can target your posts and content to their interests and needs. Think about your existing audience, the people you are trying to reach, and how you would classify them in groups. Considering your existing and potential audiences will guide you as you create your content and ensure engagement.
3. Determine which platforms are right for you.
There are many social media platforms out there, each with its own unique culture and uses. The four most used by businesses are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, but others include Pinterest, Tumblr, TikTok and YouTube. A common misconception is that the more platforms you post on, the better. In truth, being choosy is beneficial. Consider what kind of business you run and which platforms your target audience is most likely to be on. For example, if you run a walking cane company, you’ll want to focus on Facebook and avoid TikTok.
4. Create unique and engaging content.
When you start out on a platform, it’s a good idea to spend some time lurking and sharing other people’s posts to get a feel for the culture of the platform and how users interact. But in time, you will need to start creating your own content to have an impact. Use your audience research to inform the kind of content you create, and watch carefully to see how your audience engages with the different types of content you put out.
5. Include your followers.
Your followers are arguably your most important resource in social media marketing. They are the ones who will decide the success or failure of your campaigns by engaging and sharing your content or not. When creating your content, try to include your followers by encouraging them to share their own content under a single hashtag, reposting user-submitted content, or hosting competitions.
6. Schedule your posts.
Once your social media marketing really gets going, it can be a lot to remember which posts are going on which platforms and when. Get your posts on a regular schedule by using a social media management tool, which allows you to write captions, prepare photos and videos, and schedule posts. Some even have centralized dashboards where you can view all of your platform content and analytics at once.
7. Analyze your results.
If followers are your most important resource, analytics are a close second. Analytics will tell you if your efforts are helping you meet your goals. You will want to track key metrics such as engagement, reach, followers, impressions, video views, profile visits, mentions, shares, tags and reposts. You can use these metrics to guide tweaks to your social media marketing strategy or even to help you decide on new campaigns. Many social platforms come with their own analytics tools, including Facebook, Twitter, Google and Instagram, or you can use your social media management tool’s analytics to track all of your social media in one place.
How to decide which platforms are best for your business
As we said in step three, determining which social media platforms to post on can be difficult. Your inclination might be to post on as many as you can at first to see what sticks, but this will only overwhelm you and exhaust your resources. Instead, carefully consider which platforms your audience is on and which are most conducive to your business. If you run a small business, you can think a little personally, said Darlene Hawley, personal branding and online business coach.
“Start with you – what platform do you like to spend time on?” she said. “If you enjoy the platform, then you’re more likely to keep showing up, building relationships and engaging with your ideal clients.”
Using a platform that you like also means you are more comfortable on it and understand its nuances, which can go a long way in ensuring engagement.
Ashley Monk, CEO of It Media, suggested considering your target audience, how much your marketing team can commit to, and what type of business you run.
“When determining channels to engage on social media, two questions must be considered: Where is my target client, and how many platforms can myself or my marketing team commit to creating quality content for?” she said. “For a smaller brick-and-mortar company such as a boutique, channels such as Instagram that are visually engaging and encourage trends are effective, in addition to channels such as Google My Business to increase organic SEO. But for larger brands such as Target, a multichannel approach is essential to engaging a wider reach.”
Tips for an effective social media marketing campaign
Once you’ve done your research and outlined your steps, it’s time to make sure your campaign will be successful. Below are some tips to help you ensure your social media campaigns hit your goals.
- A common saying regarding social media is that content is king, and it’s true. Content should be your No. 1 concern when creating social media campaigns – if it’s not quality, don’t post it.
- The heart – and greatest challenge – of social media marketing is finding unique ways to connect with your customers and provide content they want to engage with. If you simply create content for the sake of creating content, you’re unlikely to connect with your audience or grow your follower count and engagement rate.
- “An easy tip for increasing engagement is to engage positively on noncompetitive but relevant content on the same social channel,” said Joe Sinkwitz, CEO of Intellifluence. “If you were to comment on tweets related to your subject, and are also putting out useful content, you’ll find others will engage with yours as well.”
- Provide fun ways to generate more leads, like contests, links to your website or special offers in your profile bio, live videos with exciting updates or news, and Facebook or Instagram shop.
- “Think about your end goal first,” said Olivia Heel, senior account executive at Catapult PR-IR. “Are you trying to drive more engagement? Awareness? Followers? Then build out your campaign in a way you think will get your desired result. A lot of social media campaigns are trial and error, so don’t worry too much about nailing it at first.”
Things to avoid in social media marketing
Because social media is such a pervasive aspect of most people’s lives, detailed and nuanced etiquette has formed both for social media generally and for each individual platform. Generally, there are a few things you should avoid in your social media strategy.
- Posting too much: Your followers want to see your content, but they don’t want to see it all the time. A good rule of thumb is to post during business hours (i.e., between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.) and only when you have a good reason to post, like genuinely good content or an update.
- Flashy trends: Trends come and go, but they could make or break your business. If you see a trend you are interested in, think carefully about the benefits of participating versus the risks, keeping in mind how your followers are likely to respond.
- Fake followers: As you get further into the world of social media, it can be easy to get caught up in follower counts and be tempted into buying followers or using influencers with a high percentage of fake followers. These accounts provide no actual engagement, which is ultimately what matters in social media marketing.
- Not prioritizing your customers’ needs: “Think about your target customer and what they want, not what you want,” said Bobby Guions, digital and social media consultant. “A lot of businesses … get wrapped up in the idea of their product or service, not understanding their customers’ needs.”
- Inconsistency: Try to remain consistent in the types of content you post and when. Customers will be confused if you put out different personas or engagement styles each day, throwing them off of your brand. Determine the kind of online presence you want to have and stick to it.
- Inauthenticity: Remember why you got on social media in the first place – to expand your audience and increase your brand awareness. If you are projecting a persona on a social platform that is not true to your business, customers will feel misled and confused.
“The best social media campaigns are authentic – stay true to your brand voice while keeping in mind the audience you are appealing to,” said Heel.
