When I first started out in Social Media for Businesses I would just spend the first few minutes looking for images online, think of a great quote add a company logo and upload. I would tweet as thoughts came to me which would be in bursts of messages at various points of the day. That changed as time in a day was needed to focus on other operations, just as every business requires. So I stepped back to assess why I was growing followers on various accounts yet not generating a return on the investment of my time spent.
Too many businesses leap into social media without mapping out a clear strategy, More often than not engagement without strategy leads to disappointing results and in some cases reputation crises. Here are Steps to forming an effective Social Media Strategy to get you started. Social Media is evolving, so are your customers and the way you do business – So develop your strategy and review your plan frequently.
Start by defining your goals and purpose.
Is your goal to build brand awareness, provide customer service, or generate leads? Your goals will be your guide into what content to create and what audience you want to attract. Don’t be expecting 100s of phone calls after Day 1 – unless you’re spending quite an elaborate budget on ad spend, that won’t be a reality. Social Media is like a baby, you have to nurture it while growing your audience base.
Establish your target audience Who is your ideal customer? Create a profile of your target audience, including demographic information and other factors, such as location, profession, or interests. So when you creating content you creating images and text that will relate to the right demographics.
Target the Appropriate Social Media Platforms, there are endless options to choose from – take these 5 as we setup our clients with these essentials : Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google Plus and YouTube. If you think you can handle more add Instagram, Vine, Mailchimp or Everlytic for your email management and Pinterest. Remember each Social network needs a campaign strategy from content to communication so be wise and not over ambitious. If worked well you can embody all of the above effectively.
Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and Core Topics, Your unique selling proposition is the defining feature or set of features that sets your company apart from the competition. Your USP should be relevant to your target audience and in-line with your social media goals.
Create a Content Calendar, Draw up what you are going to post on set dates and execute content at effective times. Don’t just be posting your products or services and expect people to buy into you. Create content of communication on the benefits of these products, how your services will help with key problems and how to videos as examples. Stay abreast with latest industry trends and your countries opportunities – Ride the hashtag wave and join in on global to local conversations and use these streams of conversation to say something about who you are and what your constructive opinion solution can show benefit to the social audience.
