Class is in session, and today’s lesson is an important one. Whether you’re just launching your business or you’ve been around for a while and are ready to dip your toes a little bit deeper into the social media waters, you are going to need a solid social media strategy.
Before you get too far down the road, let’s bring it back to the basics and talk about a few things that are needed to lay the foundation for a strong social media strategy. There won’t be a pop quiz, but you are encouraged to take notes. Let’s dive in.
- Define your audience: Who are you trying to reach on social media? While it’s tempting to want to be everything to everyone, this will only hinder your efforts. Hone in on your target audience, drilling down different personas of who they are, the characteristics and demographics that define them and what their lifestyle looks like.
- Do your homework: After you have a clear picture of who you’re trying to reach, you will want to conduct research to determine where these people are spending their time online, including competitors’ pages. This will be useful to decide what platforms you are going to establish a presence on.
- Polish your voice: While your brand should guide the way you communicate, both online and off, certain platforms call for a more casual variation of your brand’s personality and tone of voice. It’s a good idea to get very clear on how your voice is used in different formats so you resonate with the audience while staying true to your values.
- Measure success: One of the most important, and overlooked, parts of establishing a strategy is deciding how you will measure its success. Set measurable goals and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that matter most to your business, in addition to the tools and methods that will be used to assess them as well as the frequency they will be measured.
- Establish a workflow: Depending on the size and structure of your organization, there may be many cooks in the kitchen or just one person overseeing it all. To eliminate any headaches, it’s a good idea to get very clear on the workflow of content, including editing, who needs to review, who posts and how often, etc.
- Paid vs. organic: There is no beating around the bush here. The days of floating by on solely organic reach are in the past; the digital landscape is crowded and money talks. Decide where to put your ad dollars and how much you’re comfortable spending. Don’t forget to analyze, report and adjust often so you’re getting a great ROI.
- Content creation: Are you ready for the fun part? Now that you know who you’re talking to, how you’re speaking to them and where you’re going to find them, it’s time to put yourself out into the world. Build a content calendar to track things like annual campaigns, events and product launches so that you’re always one step ahead of planning.
- Launch your strategy: It’s time to put all that hard work into action and implement your strategy. Keep in mind that social media is regularly evolving and that means your strategy will too. Experiment to see what works, pivot when needed and, most importantly, don’t forget to have some fun.
If you’re feeling ready to put together your social media strategy but still need a little bit of guidance, our team is here to help. Get a free one-hour consultation at ellingtondigital.com.