With so many social media platforms out there, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Just thinking about creating content for each platform can give you decision fatigue.
You’ve likely stumbled upon countless articles telling you to “be more human” and “less robotic” in your social media strategy. While you read these words, you’re probably nodding along, thinking, “Yeah, I get it. But how exactly do I do that?”
Let me assure you, there will be no talk of ‘synergizing backward overflow’ or ‘strategizing relational flexibilities’ here. We are not robots, nor do we aspire to sound like them. In this blog, we’re going to explore eight simple yet effective ways to craft a winning social media strategy, all while keeping it human and relatable.
1. Set Clear Goals and Objectives
Starting a social media strategy without clear goals and objectives would be like throwing darts down a dark hallway and hoping to hit your target. How would you even know where the target is?
Identify what you want your strategy to accomplish. Define what you want to achieve with your content and focus on creating content that aligns with those goals. Clear objectives help keep your marketing goals in sight and can focus your team on the end game. Try to break down your objectives into daily tasks or even smaller steps to help you see progress and stay motivated.
Common social media goals include:
Brand Awareness: Increase awareness about your brand among your target audience. Track the number of followers, impressions, and shares.
Engagement: Boost engagement with your content. Gauge effectiveness by analytics like post likes, shares, comments, and other forms of interaction.
Lead Generation: Use social media to generate leads for your business. Track progress by the number of sign-ups or form completions.
Website Traffic: Drive more traffic to your website from social media. Google Analytics can help you measure this.
Customer Satisfaction: Improve customer satisfaction by using social media as a platform for customer service.
Community Building: Foster a community around your brand by encouraging discussions and interactions among followers.
Sales/Conversions: Increase sales or conversions directly attributable to social media efforts.
Thought Leadership: Establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry through informative and insightful content.
Reputation Management: Use social media to manage and improve your brand’s reputation.
Audience Growth: Expand your overall audience on social media platforms. Measure progress by analytics like the number of new followers or subscribers.
Try to limit your strategy to 2-3 key objectives at a time. Having too many goals can make it difficult to measure effectiveness. It’s better to concentrate on a few important areas, achieve them, and then move on to other goals. Remember, the quality of your posts often outweighs the quantity when it comes to successful social media strategies.
2. Know Your Audience
If you’re trying to sell computer parts to bakery owners, you likely won’t get very far. The same goes for social media. You need to know your audience inside and out to create content that resonates with them. Start by asking yourself these questions: Who is my target audience? What are their pain points? What motivates them? What do they value?
Once you clearly understand your audience, you can tailor content to their needs and interests. Use social media analytics tools to gather data on your audience’s demographics, behavior, and interests. Collect data on the type of content they engage with, what time they are most active on social media, and what platforms they prefer.
3. Use a Social Media Content Calendar
You know that feeling when you’re staring at a blank document, trying to come up with something brilliant, but your mind is as empty as your last bag of chips? That’s what happens when you don’t have a plan.
As the old saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. Developing a social media calendar not only helps you stay organized but also ensures that your content is well thought out and consistent. Calendars allow you to see the big picture and ensure that your content is cohesive, consistent, and aligns with your business goals.
Think about the type of content you want to post – from images to videos, long-form content to short and snappy captions – and plan accordingly. Whether you prefer to use a traditional calendar or a digital one, plenty of tools and apps (like Hootsuite and Later) can help you keep track of your content.
4. Engage with Your Audience
Social media isn’t a one-way street; it’s a conversation. Your audience wants to engage with you and feel like they’re part of your community. Take the time to respond to comments and messages, like and share user-generated content, and encourage your followers to share their own stories and experiences. By fostering a sense of community and connection, you’ll create a loyal following that’s passionate about your brand.
5. Use Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication in the world. It’s also one of the most powerful tools for social media strategies.
Storytelling allows you to connect with your audience on an emotional level by creating content that is memorable, relatable, and shareable. Start by thinking about your brand’s unique story. What makes you different from your competitors? What is your mission, values, and vision? Use storytelling techniques such as humor, suspense, and surprise to engage your audience and keep them hooked.
6. Be Consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to social media.
By posting frequently and on a regular schedule, you’ll keep your audience engaged and interested in your brand. Post at least 4-5 times per week (or more, depending on your platform) and stick to a consistent posting schedule.
Remember, quality is just as important as quantity. You don’t want to post just for the sake of posting. Provide your audience with useful, promotional, relevant, educational, entertaining, or interesting content to your industry.
7. Focus on Visual Content
Visual content is one of the most effective ways to capture and engage your audience’s attention. Research shows that most social media posts with images or videos get more engagement than those without. Similarly, Facebook posts with images get more likes, comments, and shares than those without. Visual content can be a photo, infographic, GIF, or video. Use free tools like Canva or Giphy to create eye-catching visuals that reflect your brand and message.
8. Measure Your Results and Adjust Your Strategy
The job doesn’t end once you have published your content. It’s important to look back and analyze how well it went and what you can do to improve. Social media analytics can be incredibly helpful when planning your social media strategy.
Tools like Google Analytics and Sprout Social will track social media statistics to help measure your success. By analyzing your social media data, you can see what’s working and what’s not. For example, if you notice that a particular post is getting a lot of engagement, use that information to create similar content in the future. Similarly, if you notice that a particular campaign isn’t doing well, make adjustments to improve its performance. Use the collected data to adjust your next social media posting, improve your call-to-actions, or fine-tune your ongoing strategy.
Conclusion
Creating a winning social media strategy requires creativity, planning, and execution. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to experiment, learn, and adjust your strategy based on your performance. Our hope is that with these tips and tricks, you can create a social media strategy that will help you achieve your marketing goals.
Struggling to keep up with social media trends and consistent posting? We’ve got you covered. We’ll help you identify a visible target and create social media posts that hit the bullseye every time.
Our social media specialists craft compelling, tailored content that resonates with your audience and drives engagement. We’ve helped customers in Quincy, IL, the surrounding areas, and across the county successfully level up their social media management. With a proven track record of boosting online presence and enhancing brand visibility, we strive to deliver exceptional results that exceed expectations. Reach out to us or call (217) 222-1451 for a free quote on working with us to develop your next social media strategy.
