Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash
Planning and executing a successful social media marketing strategy can seem incredibly daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. But, much like any other business endeavor, following the right steps will help ensure that you are successful at hitting your goals in your social media campaigns.
Every year, social media marketing becomes more and more popular. Businesses have discovered the value of sharing information with their customers through their social media platforms.
However, many of these businesses are unsure how to implement their social media marketing strategy and continue to stumble in their attempts to reach out to new customers and stay connected with their existing ones.
This guide will go over some of the most important elements of successful social media marketing and provide step-by-step instructions on putting your strategy into action to drive results.
Define Your Goals and Measure Your Accomplishment
Without clearly defined goals, you won’t be able to tell how successful your campaign was. Social media marketing becomes much more difficult when you’re not sure what you’re trying to accomplish–or even what you have accomplished.
Figuring out your goals will help determine where to spend your time and money on social media. Once you know what’s important to your business, create a specific set of measurable goals to know when a campaign has been successful.
These should include short-term objectives like gaining new customers and long-term objectives like building customer loyalty over several months or years.
Identify the Right Networks
First, it’s important to identify the networks that will be most valuable to you. Some of the most popular social media networks include Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
You may also want to consider less popular–but still highly valuable–networks like Snapchat or Pinterest. Social media video ads can simultaneously promote your business on many platforms, but not all platforms are created equally.
First, identify your objective and list the relevant social networks. Next, create a plan to use these networks in tandem with each other to achieve your objectives.
Gain Followers by Creating Engaging Content
To gain followers, you need to create engaging content that people want to follow you for. The best way to do this is by creating a blog where your followers can get the latest updates on what’s going on in your business.
For example, suppose you don’t have time to create a blog and post pictures and videos of your products or services with captions telling your audience why they should follow you. As long as you’re providing them with valuable content, it shouldn’t take too long to see an increase in followers.
Another option is paying for sponsored posts which allow you to increase your following. If you’d like to try this strategy, simply find a company that sells social media marketing packages and submit a request for more information.
Create an Effective Call to Action
An effective call to action is crucial to any social media marketing strategy. Whether you are promoting your products or services, or someone else’s, your followers must understand what they need to do to take the desired action.
The best way to get them on board is by using clear language and graphics that inform them of the benefits and a time limit. For example, if you have limited space, focus on making one or two points. Include words like now, today, this weekend, etc., so people know when the offer will expire.
Also, include how many steps there are to achieve the goal – less than five steps are ideal.
Measure, Learn, and Improve your Campaigns
Measurement is key to understanding what is working and what isn’t. The best way to do this is by setting up campaigns that track the success of your efforts. You can do this by using Google Analytics or a tool like Hootsuite.
Using Google Analytics, you will need to set up a Facebook Pixel on your website to measure conversions from social media marketing campaigns. You can use many different types of conversions with Google Analytics; it all depends on your business goals.
In addition to tracking page views, bounce rates, time spent on site and other important metrics, we also recommend setting up conversion goals so that you know how many people take a specific action (e.g., sign up for your newsletter) after visiting your website through one of your social media posts.
Get to Know Your Competition.
There are a lot of social media platforms out there, and it can be hard to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. So when developing your strategy, it’s important to know what your competition is doing.
Aside from understanding what your competitors are doing, it’s also worth looking at industry trends in social media. With new networks popping up and old ones going through major changes, this area deserves close attention if you want to stay on top.
For example, Snapchat was very popular in 2013 but has since slowed down in usage – this means that marketers need to use their resources more strategically. And Instagram, the fastest growing network in 2017, now holds the title of the most used network.
By tracking what’s trending and using these insights to develop a marketing plan tailored specifically for your business, you will have the edge over other businesses unaware of what’s happening around them.
Do a Social Media Audit.
This first step is crucial to any social media marketing strategy. You need to know where your target audience spends their time and how they interact with each other. Use tools like Klout, Followerwonk, or Social Mention to find out what content your target audience shares and discusses.
Don’t forget that you also want to research influential people in your niche. The right influencers can help your content go viral! Once you have a good idea of your target audience, it’s time to get into the details of setting up a social media campaign.
Each platform has its rules, so take some time to read the instructions for Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram etc. Then make sure you share these instructions with everyone on your team.
For example, you don’t want to accidentally post something as private when sharing on LinkedIn or publish a photo without adding hashtags on Instagram – little mistakes like these could cost you big in terms of missed opportunities.
Wrapping Up
Consistency is the most important aspect of a successful marketing strategy. Make sure you are posting on your social channels at least once per day and that you are providing quality content.
Your content should look, not only professional, but also relevant and timely. It will take time to see significant returns with your efforts, but do not give up too soon!
It may seem intimidating now, but if you follow these steps to start building your social media marketing strategy, you will be well on your way to having an effective marketing plan in no time!
