6 Steps to Crafting a Social Media Strategy
A social media strategy is a guide, or blueprint, to what your small business is going to do on social media. What platforms are you going to be on? What content are you going to be sharing?
Before you get crazy and open accounts for your business on every social media platform, you need to do your research and create a strategy.
LEARN YOUR AUDIENCE
Before you start marketing to everyone, you need to learn who your ideal audience is and find out where they are hanging out online. If you’re trying to cater your content towards your audience then you better know who they are! Start by asking yourself a couple of questions. What do they like to do? Where do they shop? How do they consume information online?
There are 3.2 billion social media users worldwide, so it’s safe to say that your target audience is on social media. You just need to find out what platforms they are using.
RESEARCH THE COMPETITION
There’s a lot to be learned from your competitors! Conduct a competitor analysis on social media to see what your competitors are doing. Replicate their strengths and dominate their weaknesses where their strategy is lacking… but don’t copy what they are doing!
Authenticity goes a long way on social media, so stick to your brand’s messaging and don’t copy what your competitors are doing. It’s ok to learn from what they are doing, but don’t share the exact content. Make it unique to your brand!
CONDUCT A SOCIAL AUDIT
If you are already present on the social media platforms where your target audience is, then conduct an audit of your accounts. Look at how your accounts are doing and where you could be doing better. How is your engagement? Are you posting consistently? What content is performing the best?
Go into the insights of your account and see what posts are getting the most engagement. Ignore vanity metrics such as likes, and look at shares, comments, and saves (on Instagram!)
OPTIMIZE ACCOUNTS
Social media profile bios are very important for getting information across to your audience. Include your hours, contact info, and more importantly what you sell!
Your social media profiles should also be on brand, and your online brand should be consistent. If you are a personal brand, have the same professional headshot on your profile photos. If your business is a brand, have the same company logo that is legible to read on your profile photos.
Design profile banners for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on Canva.com, our favorite free online graphic design tool.
CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR
Once you have done research on your target audience and competitors, you should now know what your content strategy is going to be. If you are stuck with what content you should share, read this blog post on creating content.
Create a posting schedule for each platform that shows the time of day, the frequency throughout the month, and the platform type. We recommend following the 80/20 rule when sharing content on social media.
80% of the content you share should be educational, valuable, or inspirational. The other 20% of the content should be you selling your offer: your products or services.
TEST, ANALYZE, AND ADJUST
Track the success of your social media efforts every month. It’s important to keep track of your results and strategies. What worked? What didn't work? Don't get frustrated! Readjust your strategy and get creative the next month.
Finally, be patient! It takes time to build a brand and community on social media.
Still need Social Media Strategy help? Check out our membership that offers ready-made templates, content calendars, and over 2,500+ hashtags available each month!
