As we know, social media is an extremely powerful tool that, when used correctly, can increase brand awareness and popularity, increase a loyal customer base and show that we are always there for customers.
However, in order to have a consistent and successful online presence, you must first have a strong social media strategy. Otherwise, organizations can miss out on huge opportunities and the competition will likely make the most of it.
What do marketing managers and their teams need to know when putting together a strong plan for their digital activity? A good place to start is with these six simple steps.
1. Evaluation of competitors' content
At the beginning of any major marketing project, when it comes to planning, research is key. A great place to start is by analyzing the content you already have.
Depending on what kind of content is being shared, the engaged audience and the tone of the posts vary from brand to brand, but even just looking at what's being shared can give you an overview of what's working and what's going unnoticed.
Digging a little deeper there are several tools that can provide an integrated competitor analysis. However, it's important for agencies or marketing managers to draw their own conclusions to understand what works best for the business in focus and how they should update their strategy going forward to stay relevant.
2. Where is the most active audience?
Choosing the right channels to engage the organization's core audience will help the brand establish itself there. A company should put most of its efforts to drive more engagement, traffic and sales. The use of Google Analytics can aid this research, revealing demographics, purchases and behaviours - enabling social content to be tailored to the customer's needs.
In addition, each online platform has its own internal analytics platform to gain a clearer picture - are visitors more interested in video and visual content? Or from long reading texts and statistics? Audience verification can help determine a strategy according to the brand.
It's also worth noting that marketers should not underestimate the power of any channel if it drives greater engagement their organization. For example, Facebook may have over two billion users, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will achieve good results if the desired audience isn't active there.
3. Set goals and objectives
Marketing departments around the world are driven by measurable results. Why? Because without them, there's no real insight into ROI, brand performance or consumer activity. That's why, even before firing up their laptop to create a plan, agencies or marketing managers need to ensure that goals and target groups are defined and fit their chosen channels.
Some organisations look at outcomes that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SEAP/SMART) to determine the right business objectives. This is important for mapping the next steps and adequately involving teams.
For example, "Increase engagement on Instagram" is not precisely measurable, while "Increase engagement with 20% through video content on Instagram over the next three months" signals a drive towards a specific goal.
By tracking SIPO/SMART goals, companies can better optimize time and resources, as well as get real results instead of social media self-esteem scores like follower counts and site visits.
4. Select content according to channel
Whether the goal is to inform, entertain or engage audiences, marketers should not take an "everything everywhere" approach to the channels they work on. It's very lazy to think that one message works across all sites. A personalized approach allows customers to get a real sense of what the content is trying to accomplish - creating a connection between the company and the consumer.
Agencies should consider what the publication will look like before hitting send. For example, might it be better used as an Instagram story? Or is it better suited to a longer read-only LinkedIn text?
Recognizing that each channel is completely different and communicating focused to the audience type helps the strategy take shape and create more interaction as well as brand advocates.
5. Create useful texts and get people to share
As the theme continues, the picture becomes clearer and key strategies are used effectively to build digital content. Today, a portfolio of useful content needs to be easily accessible to both the organisation and employees
It's no secret that social media users usually trust posts from people they know rather than a brand. Does your marketing team use this in their strategy?
Encouraging employees to share company posts on their networks not only expands the target audience, but makes staff members feel valued. Providing rich content that engages users and encourages workers to share and interact all helps build a strong line of communication.
6. Follow
Finally, breaking through the advertising "noise" is a real feat. Customers are often used to viewing all types of content at the speed of light, so there must be something very valuable to get their attention.
This is where good judgment comes into play. Using forecasting tools can help businesses understand which audiences are most active and when posts should be used optimally.
Data is essential to the overall implementation of a strong social networking strategy. It doesn't stop at the research stage, each piece of content needs to be analysed in detail and this knowledge used to shape the next post. It's an ongoing process for marketers to test, test and test again.
Such insight can help drive greater campaign engagement, product placement and exciting messaging, therefore it is important to ensure that high priority content is both seen by as many people as possible and audience interaction is encouraged.
By frequently reviewing performance and evaluating what's working and what's not, and putting together an interactive and flexible portfolio of great content, organizations are best positioned to thrive with the right audience, at the right time, with a killer social strategy.
