Social media can be a big task, especially when you’re just starting to use it to promote your business. There are rules and algorithms that are not the same as having personal accounts that you need to navigate and be aware of.
As a starting point, we’ve put together this 10 point list that will help you on your way.
1. Define Clear Goals
This is the foundation of your social media management or campaign strategy. Defining goals and objectives will give you direction, purpose and will help you narrow down the main themes you want your content to focus around.
2. Get To Know Your Audience
One of the most important parts of your social strategy. Get to know your audience, who they are, what the like and what the want to know about. This information will help you craft content that the are interested in and will engage with, helping you build community thats interested in your business.
2. Choose the Right Platforms
Do your research and get to know how each social media network operates and choose the right ones for your brand. Is your target audience active in the network? Do you have the resources to create the content required for the specific channel?
4. Create a Content Bank
Now that you have your objectives laid out and the networks you’d like to be active on, you can create or source content that supports your objectives. Scheduling ahead can save you time and headaches, just remember to make sure your content is authentic, creative by you (not AI) and try whoever possible to use your own image. Think about this algorithms.
5. Identify Keywords and Hashtags
A little more research here, but collecting a bank of the top industry keywords or hashtags your audience is using will make for easier messaging composition. Finding the right hashtags is key to reaching your target audience. Learn how to search for keywords and hashtags here.
6. Create a Content Schedule
After you have your bank of content you need to create a schedule. Based on your objectives, and the amount of content you have decide how often you’d like to post on social media and on what days. I suggest using a mix of live and scheduled posts for a balance of your content and to remain current with topics in the industry or that relate to your audience. Learn how to create a social media content schedule here.
7. Set Up Social Tools
For a little help saving time, set up all your social media tools. Some of my favorites are Hootsuite or AgoraPulse for planning and scheduling posts. I use Bit.ly for shortening and light tracking of links. Everyone will have a preference of tools, so be sure to try a few and go with the ones that make the most sense to you.
8. Set Your Analytics
I love analyzing what is working and what’s not working across all my clients’ accounts – it’s an essential part of tweaking and improving your social media strategy. Navigating analytics can be confusing since each network has so many metrics to keep track of. In general I suggest you pay attention to your follower growth, reach of your posts and more importantly how engaged your audience is with your content. Pay attention to what days and what times perform best (getting your timing right is essential to extending the reach of your posts).
9. Conduct a Social Media Audit
Make it a habit of conducting a social media audit on your channels periodically. A self audit can help you catch inconsistencies across channels, what campaigns worked (or not) review benchmarks, and maybe even set new goals, allowing you to consistently improve your social media strategy. Read more about conducting your own social media audit.
10. Keep an eye on the competition
You can learn so much from watching others. Watch what your competitors do well, and what flops so you don’t make the same mistakes.
As a bonus – make sure your images are as high quality as possible (and think about creating a theme for your accounts for you more advanced users). I hope this collection of tips give you a good base and clarity to get started on creating a social media strategy.