Social Media Is Just a Buzzword Until You Come up with a Plan
In August I started sharing a “Social Media Tip of the Week” on my Instagram feed, and the one I’m sharing today inspired me to write this post.
If you are using social media for business or if even just to get more visibility, you should have some sort of a strategy behind what you are posting or doing on social media. Here are five things to consider when creating your social media marketing strategy:
1. Know what your brand identity/story is and how you want to represent it.
Know your WHY- as Simon Sinek puts it. What unique value (i.e. knowledge and expertise) can you provide? The answer to these questions will help you to determine what types of content to share/post on social media.
2. Know your clients/customers/fans.
Who they are? What is their demographic profile? How can you reach them? What social media platforms are they on and what times of day are they most likely to be on an most engaged? What do they want or need (i.e. what appeals to them)?
3. Check out your competition.
See what they are doing and if you can identify what they are doing that IS working and why it works. What lessons can you learn about what TO DO and NOT DO from your competitors? Who are their customers/clients/fans? Is there some unmet need that you can offer to them?
4. Make sure that your social media strategy supports your business goals.
What you are doing on social media should somehow contribute to your business goals. But be realistic about what you expect your social media activity to yield. Examine whether or not your social media posts have a strong call to action. You may also want to track the behaviour of visitors who have clicked on your links via social media.
5. Have a way to monitor and measure your social media marketing efforts.
Decide which social metrics you want to measure. Beware of focusing on vanity metrics. Select a specific reporting period and measure results before and after. Over longer periods of time you can monitor your results, by looking for spikes or dips and/or comparing your social metrics with your competitors’.
With social media things are continually changing. Each platform is constantly being updated with new features and who knows what the future may bring. Which platforms will survive or fail? What new platform will emerge to upset the status quo?
In order to take advantage of new developments, you must keep up by periodically re-evaluating your social media strategy. Take time to seek feedback from your most loyal client/customers/fans. But also before even doing that notice what your followers are reacting to and telling you on social media. And finally, don’t be afraid of trying and testing out new things.
