Lets face it, you’re probably reading this because your business exists on social media in some form, but let me guess, what you’re doing isn't exactly achieving results? Or you’re a bit lost in what to post? Then you’re probably missing a fundamental element.
THE SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY.
What is a social media strategy and do you need one?
The quick and simple answer for every business, big or small is a social media strategy is a statement of intent for your businesses use of social media, your goals, your objectives and how to reach them.
And do you need one? YES!
Think of it like this. If you’d just learned to drive a car, you wouldn’t jump in and head to the seaside without giving any thought to the route or the cars controls.
Social media is no different. You have to know and understand your target audience first, understand platforms you’re going to be using, and then have a clear idea of how you want to use them.
In this blog, I’m not only going to explain the importance of a clear social media strategy, I’m going to share my top tips on what to include in one.
What are your social media objectives?
Be clear with this. You might, for example, want to use your platforms to build brand awareness, get to know your audience better, connect with other businesses or promote and sell a product or service.
Having a clear objective - rather than just posting for the sake of it - means you can tailor your content to achieve your goals.
Why having a social media strategy is important
Without a strategy there is no way to tell if your social media is working, you’re going to be driving around in circles and going nowhere fast.
Social media is time consuming enough without posting content that doesn't achieve anything or sends out the wrong message, or worse still no clear message at all!
A clear social media strategy set out, gives you a roadmap to follow.
What to include in your social media strategy
- Define your audience
Who is your ideal customer? Who do they follow and engage with on social media? Think about the problems your brand can help them overcome, and why they would follow you online.
2. Choose your platform(s)
Once you know your target audience you can gauge the best platform to use. You may decide to pick more than one platform, but, for example, there is little to be gained from posting pretty images on Instagram if your a B2B company and your ideal audience are engaging in industry based debates on LinkedIn.
3. Where are you starting from?
Before you implement a new strategy, benchmark your starting point. This information should include the platforms you’re currently using, your follower numbers, engagement rate, average post reach, how often you’re posting and when.
Look at your best-performing content and just as important look at those posts that didn’t do so well.
4. Goals & Objectives
Knowing what you want to achieve on social media is really important - because once you have a goal in mind you can start working towards it.
Your goals might vary from month to month, but it’s important to give yourself time to test your strategy and see if it works.
Your goals will also determine the type of content you’re posting. For example, if you want to get more traffic to your website, you’ll likely post pictures of your products or links to your blog.
Or if you want to become the go-to expert in your field, you’ll post value-based how-to content and your views on industry news.
5.What to post
Assuming you've done point 3 (Where are you starting from?), you should know the content that’s worked well for you in the past.
Now take a dive into your competitors’ pages. What content are people engaging with? No strategy is complete without competitor analysis. You should regularly look at your competitors’ websites and social platforms. You can learn a lot from this simple task - even if they’re doing it badly!
I like to work my contact strategy around the 3 pillars;
Pillar one is Our Why;
Post about what you and your audience have in common. The aim is to engage the audience and get them noticing your brand.
Pillar two is Our What;
Sell your product and services and don't forget the call to action.
Pillar Three is Our How;
Tell them why they should love your brand. What do you do that stands out from the rest? Why are you special?
Use each pillar to create content to post in a variety of ways (stories, reels, posts to feed) and you will have a fantastic starting point and base to track performance.
6. Tracking your performance
A good strategy is pointless if you’re not going to track your performance to make sure its working.
You’ve already taken a baseline reading of your social channels so tracking your monthly follower numbers, engagement rate and average post reach will give you a good indicator of where you are.
7. Engagement
It’s not called ‘Social’ media for nothing. All your efforts will be wasted if you don’t factor in time to engage (chat online) with your followers and ideal customers.
Use your strategy to commit to engaging every day, even if you don’t post.
Types of engagement:
- Answering comments on your own posts
- Answering DMs
- Commenting on other accounts’ posts
- Liking and sharing other people's content
Finally don't forget to review your strategy every now and again. Even the best laid plans can go awry.
If you need help in putting a social media strategy in place or even for someone to glance an eye over an existing one please contact me, it’s what I do best! Email: jules@bloomwithbb.co.uk Call 07971672654 or visit www.bloomwithbb.co.uk