Does your social media business operate ad hoc? You are not alone.
Many companies know they should do something but are unsure of what.
At the same time, a plan for social media is needed just like for any other marketing. Here are the suggestions for you to get started.
1. CHOOSE RELEVANT AND REALISTIC OBJECTIVES
You have probably established strategic goals for the development of your company. Your social media marketing goals should be based on and complement the overall business goals.
Objectives are not be set for their own sake but should benefit the business. Therefore, make them SMART:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Accepted
• Realistic
• Timed
Some relevant social media objectives are increased brand awareness, increased sales, improved ROI, or boosted foot traffic to your shop.
2. SET RELEVANT SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS
Based on your marketing goals, decide which metrics indicate that you are achieving the objectives. If you have a goal that aims to increase brand awareness, reach is relevant. If you want to get people to act in a certain way, you should note the number of clicks. Tracking clicks by campaign give a good indication of what makes people purchase or behave in a certain way. Likes, comments, shares and so on show in turn how much your content engages.
3. CHOOSE YOUR TARGET GROUP
Again – look at your goals. You want followers who will help you achieve them, preferably of the same kind as your potential customers. This is especially relevant if you sell products in geographically specific markets.
4. UNDERSTAND YOUR TARGET GROUP
To reach your goals, you must use the same social media as your target audience. What do your customers look like, and how do they spend their time on the internet? The more you know about your target audience, the better you reach them on your social channels.
5. ON WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA DOES YOUR TARGET GROUP HANG OUT?
Where does your target group hang out? If you know your customers, you already understand this. Otherwise, a customer survey asking them about this can be wise. Start by trying to reach them on their favourite channel, such as Instagram. Then expand to include other channels where a sufficiently large number have active social accounts. You can also consider whether you want a single corporate account in a social media channel or multiple accounts – each targeted at a niche audience.
6. FIND OUT HOW YOUR COMPETITORS ACT
Probably your competitors have a social strategy as well. What is their focus? Who are they targeting? What key phrases are they trying to control? Conduct a competitor analysis to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. Then you can better understand what potential customers expect from companies in your industry.
7. PLAN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
Naturally, to succeed on social media, you need to share high-quality content. One of the biggest mistakes is sharing content that contains too much advertising. Social media is designed to be social – not a marketplace for sales.
Therefore, you need to share informative and entertaining content complemented by a small number of marketing elements. You also need to like and share other people’s content.
Also, be aware of your own limitations when it comes to creating content. If you, for example, do not have the equipment, people, knowledge, and time to make a high-quality video, don’t do it. Unfortunately, a YouTube channel with only a few blurry videos of men talking is all too common. The same applies to articles written from your own point of view instead of really conveying something that the target group wants and has use for. “Words from our CEO” is seldom a film that is loved by your actual target group.
When managing a business account, just think about what your target audience wants. You should create posts that interest, entertain and educate them.
8. SET UP YOUR ACCOUNTS PROPERLY BEFORE GETTING STARTED
By that, we mean, for example, a consistent visual appearance in all your social channels. Use the right colours, logos, language and address. Also, do not waste your own information space. Take the time to fill in bios and profiles. Link to relevant pages, maybe even specific landing pages on your website for those who click through your social channels.
9. WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO POST?
Although you can create and publish all your social posts manually, this is inefficient. Use a smart tool and publish on all your platforms simultaneously. Also, this is a clever way to keep your communication tight and not forget to share. Most social medias also use some form of algorithm to filter the results shown in the feed. This may indicate that if you publish at the wrong time, the target audience is missing.
10. CREATE THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
Before you begin – know the following: What is the optimal number of characters per platform? How many hashtags work best? Should I use emojis, and if so, which ones? What is the best content type for each channel? And do not overlook images and video. Visual content is shared much more often than other types. And remember that not all social media are identical. Customize your content for each channel.
11. MARKETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
You can market your channels in different ways. Place buttons for your accounts in various places on your website. In emails, you can include a reference to your social media in everyone you send. You can also market your social media offline in, for example, posters, brochures or other advertisements. Many companies also cross-market their social media channels.
12. COLLABORATE WITH YOUR TARGET GROUP
People hang out on social media to read or watch content. But also to interact with other people and just be social. This is why you should not be in social channels that you are not able to handle. By focusing on the social networks that your target group visits, you can use your resources efficiently. Wherever you choose to be, you need to constantly communicate with and respond to your followers. This shows that you genuinely care for your customers and their opinions.
13. PAID MARKETING IN SOCIAL MEDIA
You can demographically target your ads by buying traffic, making them visible only to your desired audience. With paid campaigns, you can reach relevant target groups that you otherwise have difficulty reaching. You can create brand awareness, market specific posts and videos or sell products.
14. INFLUENCER MARKETING MAY INCREASE YOUR SCOPE
If you choose the right influencer, you can reach a whole new audience who may be interested in your products. Influencers know how to market via social media; that’s their strength. At the same time, you must collaborate with an appropriate influencer for your company and your target group. Also, do not forget to create content that interests the target audience who incidentally finds you. Rightly included, they will become your new followers.
15. ANALYZE AND ADJUST YOUR RESULTS
No matter how much you plan your social efforts, there is no guarantee that they will turn out exactly how you want them to. At the same time – if you do not analyze your activity, you have no clue how it performs.