30 Aug The Framework For a World-Class Social Media Marketing Strategy
Are you looking to take your social media marketing strategy up a notch?
Social media marketing is one of the most important aspects of a business, and it can be difficult to create and constantly refine an effective strategy. Whether you are a brand, creator, or social media marketer, there are key steps you need to take into account.
Being the first social media agency in the US, we have seen it all. With the right framework in place, it’s possible to create a social media marketing plan that will help set you up for success.
So, whether you’re just starting out or you’re looking to refresh your current plan, read on!
Discover Social Media Channels
First thing first, it’s important to understand which social media channels are available and how each one can be used. Not all social media platforms will be relevant or effective for your business, it’s crucial to do your research before you dive in. While posting to social media is “free,” your time to create content and reply to customers certainly is not.
Knowing where you stand
Social media listening is key to understanding how customers feel about your brand and where you stack up against the competition.
Think about who your target audience is and consider which social media networks they are most likely to use. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are the most popular social media platforms but don’t forget there are many others to choose from including Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Choose your channels based on where your consumers are but also based on what content you’re able to effectively produce. Also, consider how your customers make buying decisions and what role social plays in that process. And that leads us next to…
Conduct competitor analysis
In order to create an effective social media marketing strategy, you need to know what your competition is up to.
Take a look at their social media channels and see how they are using them. Are they focusing on a particular platform? What kind of content are they posting? How often are they posting?
By understanding what your competitors are doing, you can start to develop a social media strategy that will help you stand out from the crowd. You can even look at how people respond to your competitors’ work. What gets reactions? What gets complaints? Where can you do it better?
Define Customers and Marketing Goals
Like other digital marketing strategies, social media marketing strategy works best when you have clearly outlined your audiences and actionable goals. Therefore, before you start creating social media content, it’s important to take some time to think about who your target customers are and what you want to achieve with your social media marketing.
Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Drive traffic to your website? Generate leads? Improve customer service? By having a clear understanding of your goals, you can start to create content that will help you achieve them.
Here’s what you can do…
Set SMART goals
Social media marketing goals should be SMART — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
This way, you can track your progress and adjust your strategy as needed.
Some examples of SMART social media marketing strategy goals include:
- Increase brand awareness by X% in the next 6 months
- Drive X website visitors from social media in the next month
- Generate X leads from social media in the next 3 months
- Improve customer satisfaction scores by X% in the next year
As you can see, social media marketing goals can be varied and should be tailored to your specific business needs.
Develop a content matrix
Creating social media content can be a daunting task, but by developing a content matrix, you can make the process much easier.
A content matrix is simply a tool that helps you map out social media content in an organized way. Include information such as the:
- type of content,
- social media platform it will be posted on,
- target audience,
- call to action, and
- timing of the post.
By having a content matrix in place, you can ensure that your social media content is well-rounded and effective.
Build a measurement strategy
Social media marketing can be difficult to measure. By having a clear measurement strategy in place, you can track your progress and see what’s working — and what’s not.
There’s a number of social media metrics you can measure, but it’s important to choose one that aligns with your goals. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, track measures reach and impressions. Even better, if your brand already measures awareness in some other way, how can social media support that growth?
Invest in Effective Social Media Content
While social media marketing doesn’t have a high price tag, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. Investing in high-quality social media content will help you reach your goals and stand out from the competition.
When it comes to social media content, there are three main types:
- Organic social media content. This is content that you create and post on your own social media channels without paying to promote it.
- Paid social media content. This is content that you pay to promote on social media. It can start as organic content.
- User-generated social media content. This is social media content that is created by your fans and followers.
But what is high-quality content anyway?
Defining High-quality content
How do you know if you’re creating high quality content that your audience will love? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- It’s original. Your social media content should be original and not copied from other sources.
- It’s relevant. It should be relevant to your target audience and aligned with your goals.
- It’s engaging. It should be interesting and engaging, so people will want to like, comment, and share it.
- It’s visually appealing. People are more likely to engage with social media content that’s visually appealing, make sure your images and videos top quality.
- It adds value. Your social media content should add value to your audience, whether that’s through helpful tips, entertaining stories, or inspiring quotes.
With everyone posting anything online, it’s imperative more than ever to consider posting well-thought content. The goal is to not just post but to make sure your content brings lasting impact.
This leads us to talk about…
Viral storytelling
A social media post goes viral when it’s shared by a large number of people in a short period of time. But what makes a social media post go viral?
There are a number of factors that can contribute to a social media post going viral, but one of the most important is storytelling. A great story has the power to captivate an audience and make them want to share it with others.
So how do you create a great story that will capture your audience’s attention and make them want to share it? Here are a few tips:
Make it relatable, strike the emotions, perhaps offer a surprise twist within it, and keep it short. The shorter the better is a good general rule (although some really detailed, long-form content does well in certain situations).
Deliver Social Media Results
If your business or brand had already been active on social media, you should make it a habit to constantly audit your current marketing activities and their successes. Doing so helps you to understand social media’s role in your business, and more importantly, how social media can help you achieve your business goals.
The advantage of advertising on social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram include the ability to target a well-defined audience as well as to amplify the results of a good-performing post. You can also tap into paid advertising on social networks to grow your online community, generate leads, and trigger sales.
Get to know ads and how to utilize them
Ads are a dime a dozen on social media but not all ads perform the same. It would be beneficial to understand how social media advertising works as well as the different types of social media ads available.
Make sure to set your ad budget and objectives before creating your social media ad campaign. Doing so will help you to determine the best social media platform to advertise on as well as the type of social media ad that will work best for your business.
Develop your paid social media strategy
While there’s no question that everyone struggles with organic reach, some social media platforms make it harder than others. Developing a paid social media strategy can help to ensure that your social media ads are seen by your target audience and that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Strategy in place before you start spending money on social media ads.
Network with Social Media Communities
Now it’s time to look at one of the too often neglected opportunities: communities.
Social groups today have increasingly grown in popularity. There are social media groups and forums for just about every niche, industry, and interest out there These social media communities provide a great way to connect with like-minded people, share content and get feedback.
Joining social media groups and forums can also help to build relationships with other social media users, which can eventually lead to social media influencers promoting your content.
An exciting to do is to build a community of your own whether a community of your brand fans, customers or influencers who advocate for your brand. This can help you create social proof and ultimately lead to more social media success. To be successful, however, you have to figure out what value being a member of the group offers. Nail that down and your group will thrive.
Final Thoughts
The social media landscape is constantly evolving so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices.
New networks, new strategies, and new technologies will always be emerging, so it’s important to stay flexible and adaptable in order to be successful in social media marketing. We have also seen significant shifts in demographics and user interfaces may also result.
These social media marketing tips should help to get you started on the path to social media success. Just remember to be patient, and consistent, and be #AlwaysLearning.
If you need help crafting the strategy today, contact us, and let’s help you out!
