Social media users range in age from teenagers to those aged sixty and up. People of all income levels and education levels use social media, meaning it’s likely that your target audience is logging on regularly.
Social media can help you:
- Increase brand awareness
- Improve your conversion rates
- Drive traffic to your website
- Generate new leads
- Build a community
- Know what people are saying about your business
- Improve customer service
- Grow revenue
- And more
These benefits sound great, right? While social media can do all of these things, it’s important to understand that it’s not enough to create an account on a few social media channels and post occasionally. Like any marketing tactic, a social media strategy requires a solid understanding of which social media channels are best for your business (and why), the goals you’re hoping to achieve, and how you’ll achieve those goals.
Here’s how you can create a social media marketing strategy for your business:
Start With Your Target Audience
Where does your target audience hang out online? Are they regularly on Snapchat? Chilling on the ‘gram? Or maybe they’re consuming all their content on LinkedIn.
There are so many social media channels that trying to be active on all of them can be time-consuming and ineffective. If you’re a B2B company, posting memes on Instagram is unlikely to be the best use of your time. And if you’re hoping to engage the younger crowd, LinkedIn may not be the best choice.
So how do you know which social media channels are right for your business? Here’s a brief rundown of the differences between them:
Twitter is typically best for B2C businesses, although some B2B companies can do well here too. This social media channel is particularly well-known for customer service, and many customers will tweet at a particular company when they have a problem or issue.
Facebook is the largest channel, with over 1.5 billion users logging in every day. Both B2C and B2B businesses should at least have an active Facebook presence, even if you choose not to make this your main social media marketing channel.
Most B2C businesses should have a presence on Instagram- particularly industries like travel, fashion, beauty, health, food, and photography. This channel is excellent for reaching women between the ages of 18 and 35, although more men are increasingly using the channel.
Pinterest is another B2C powerhouse that’s popular mostly amongst women aged 18 to 45. Users create boards for everything from workout routines to vacations, wedding planning or recipes.
If you have a visual service or product- particularly one that offers some form of planning or remodeling, Pinterest is an excellent channel for you.
Every B2B business needs to be on LinkedIn. Both men and women use the site regularly, particularly those aged between 25 and 45. Use it to position your business as an authority in your industry with educational blog posts, connect with other businesses, and run ads to target commercial clients and professionals.
These are just a few of the many social media channels available, and the best choice will depend entirely on your business and your goals.
Set Your Goals
Any social media marketing strategy will require a set of objectives and goals to aim for. You’ll also need to specify which metrics you’ll use to measure your success.
For example, if you’re hoping to increase brand awareness, your goal may be to increase followers and shares. If you want more engagement, this means you’re aiming to increase mentions, likes, and comments. If you’d like to increase your conversions, you’ll need to measure how many followers are clicking on your website, signing up for your newsletter, etc.
Create a Content Calendar
Since you already have in-depth knowledge of who your target customers are, you’ll be able to create the type of content that appeals to them. This can include blog posts, images, videos, infographics, whitepapers, interviews, and more.
In order for your social media strategy to be successful, you need to post regularly. There are plenty of social media tools you can use to schedule your posts in advance, but you should also log in every day to check for comments, questions, and problems.
Track Your Results
Each week, look at your most successful posts and analyze your results. Check if you’re meeting your goals, or whether you need to reevaluate your current strategy.
When you’re first getting started, some of this will be trial and error. But by tracking and optimizing your social media strategy, you can make tweaks along the way and increase your chances of success.
Need some help creating your social media marketing strategy? Get in touch today.