Having a solid social media marketing strategy in place is essential for all businesses out there, and it’s something that you need to know inside-out in order to grow your business further.
One of the most straightforward definitions of a social media marketing strategy is using social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to give your company a voice by creating content that people will want to share and finding new ways to interact with existing and potential customers. Doing this can help your company accomplish organic growth and slowly but surely turn social media followers into paying customers.
So, if you still haven’t developed your first social media marketing strategy, don’t worry, as, in this article, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to craft your first social media marketing strategy and grow your business on social media.
Select A Social Media Platform
The first thing you need to do is choose the social media channel where you’ll focus your marketing efforts and engage with your target audience. For instance, if you opt to run an official company Instagram account as the frontrunner on your social media presence, you’ll have to develop a well-thought-out, comprehensive strategy that will grow your following and allow your brand to accomplish organic Instagram growth. In that context, you can also take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, and others and implement a sound growth strategy in that same way that will help grow your brand and your online presence.
Other social media platforms that you may choose to develop your social media marketing strategy and grow your online followers include channels such as LinkedIn & Google+. While these platforms are also entirely free and easy to use, they are also great for connecting potential clients, customers, and other business people in your industry. In addition, you can also use these platforms to post blogs about topics related to your business. This will help you get noticed by search engines and attract new customers and potential customers.
Set Realistic Goals For Your Strategy
Once you decide on the platform or platforms where you’ll build your online presence, it’s time to set some realistic objectives that you want to achieve with your marketing strategy. Why do you want to use social media in the first place? Do you want to increase sales, or are you looking for a wider audience for your content? Maybe you’re trying to build a community.
To figure your goals out, and set some reasonable objectives that you want to accomplish, think about:
- Your overall marketing goals;
- What exactly do you want people to see on social media from your brand;
- How you’ll engage with your target audience;
- How much time and resources you can devote to social media marketing;
- The kind of impact you want your social media presence to make.
Figure Out Your Target Audience
Using social media for marketing is no longer new or even considered groundbreaking. It’s now the norm for businesses to have a presence across all social media channels to reach as many customers as possible.
With so many people using social media on a daily basis, brands are getting more creative with their marketing efforts to make their content stand out in the crowd. One way they’re accomplishing this? By tailoring their content to a specific target audience. But, to tailor your content to your particular target audience, first, you have to know who you’re dealing with.
So, what exactly is a target audience? A target audience is the specific group of people you want to reach with your content. And when it comes to social media marketing and crafting your first strategy, it’s not enough to just post random content in hopes someone will like it, you have to be strategic and tailor your posts with your target customer in mind.
What makes a great target audience? The answer: well-defined demographics like age, gender, location, interests, and other traits that help you identify (and then market to) your ideal customer.
To get ahold of your target audience, you should research the people who are already buying from you, or at least follow you on social media. To do that, you can use tools like Facebook Insights or Google Analytics to get a sense of who they are, what they like, and how they behave online. From there, you can continue defining and developing your content specifically for these people.
Define Your Content
Next, it’s important to define the content you’re going to post. Let’s say you’ve chosen Instagram as your channel of preference. Are you going to share stories, photos, or videos? Maybe a combination of all three? Perhaps you’re going to do live video streams. Whatever you choose, it’s important that you stay consistent so your followers know what to expect from your posts.
For example, if you tend to post photos with inspirational quotes, stick with that format. Having a consistent format makes it easier for people to recognize and engage with your brand on social media because they know what to expect from your business when they see a post in their feed.
Create a Content Calendar
Finally, in order to post consistently on social media, you’ll need to have an idea of what to post and when. It may sound like a lot of work upfront, but creating a content calendar helps keep your posting consistent and organized.
If you’re not sure where to start, try creating an editorial calendar that outlines the topics and themes you’ll focus on each week or month. You can also try using Google Docs or Microsoft Excel to create a spreadsheet that’s easy for everyone on your team to access and manage.
Final Thoughts
In short, you should produce engaging and original content, moderate feedback that you receive so that you can gauge what’s working and what isn’t, and regularly engage with key influencers in your industry. This strategy will help you grow your business on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
