Social media is here to stay.
Social media websites are hugely influential when it comes to
directing customer perceptions and influencing their purchasing
decisions. A powerful presence on social media will help you steer
customer perceptions in the direction you want. That's where we step
in, the social media experts at Dreamers' Network will take care of
it all for you.
STRATEGY FOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Step 1: Audit Your Current Social Presence
Before you strategize about where you are headed,
take a quick look at where you are. A few areas to consider when
auditing your business’s social media presence are:
Which networks are you currently active on
Are your networks optimized (photo and cover
images, bio, URL, etc.)
Which networks are currently bringing you the most
value
How do your profiles compare to your competitors’
profiles
We offer a total online presence audit that includes a deep analysis
of your social media, content, SEO, and web structure with a
presentation of key priorities and recommended plan – Check out our Total
Online Presence Audit.
Step 2: Document Who Your Ideal Customer Is
You will want to get as specific as possible with
this part. For example, if you identified your target market as
parents it would be ok. However, if you identify your ideal customer
as a parent that lives in the United States, is between 30 and 50
years of age, earns over $70,000, primarily uses Facebook and has an
interest in outdoor activities you will have much more success.
Even the best marketers will fail if they are
marketing to the wrong audience. Answer the following questions to
help you come up with a highly focused buyer persona:
Age
Location
Job Title
Income
Pain Points (that your business can solve)
Most Used Social Network
Step 3: Create A Social Media Mission Statement
“What makes you weird, makes you unique and therefore
makes you stand out.” – Dan Schawbel
Your social media mission statement will drive your
future actions, so make sure you put some thought into it. This
statement will make it clear exactly what you plan to use your
social media presence for and should reflect your brand identity.
Keep in mind your ideal customer when trying to create this
statement.
An example mission statement might be “to use social
media to educate current and potential customers about digital
marketing, with a focus on social media marketing.” Once you have
this statement documented, it will make it simple for you to decide
what to share and create.
If it doesn’t align with your mission statement,
forget about it. Businesses that post randomly without a guiding
mission will fail. People follow experts, not generalists.
Step 4: Identify Key Success Metrics
How will you determine if your social media marketing
efforts are successful? I am not just talking about gaining more
followers, I am talking about making money. Afterall, it is hard to
rationalize spending time and money on something that isn’t
improving the bottom line.
A few metrics to consider measuring are:
Conversion Rate
Time Spent on Website
Reach
Brand Mentions
Sentiment
Total Shares
Step 5: Create and Curate Engaging Content
Sadly, many businesses jump straight to this step.
Hopefully, this post has made it clear that there are several vital
steps that you must take before you start creating and curating
engaging content to share on your social media channels.
Let’s now discuss the fun part, posting to social
media. You know who your ideal customer is and you used that
information to create your social media mission statement. Armed
with this information it should be easy for you to begin creating
and curating content. So, what exactly is considered content? Here
are a few examples of content you could create:
Images
Videos
Blog Posts
Company News
Infographics
eBooks
Interviews
The list of content ideas goes on and on, but make
sure you focus only on forms of content that align with your mission
statement, as well as your skill set. Content is what fuels social
media, so it is crucial that you consider creating high quality,
engaging content as a top priority.
I strongly recommend that you create a content
calendar that outlines how often you will post to each network,
which topics you will share and when you will share them.
Step 6: Invest In a Social Media Management Tool
Most marketers have a secret, they leverage tools to
boost their productivity. Ok, maybe it isn’t a secret, but without
tools, marketers would face constant burnout (many do even with
tools). When it comes to social media, having a social media
management tool allows you to scale your efforts with ease.
One of the main benefits of a social media management
tool is the ability to schedule posts ahead of time. Remember that
content calendar you created? Make sure your scheduled posts in your
social media management tool align with your content calendar.
Step 7: Track, Analyze, Optimize
This may be the most important step when it comes to
succeeding on social media. Even the best social media marketers
rely on trial and error. It might seem basic, but tracking your
results, analyzing the data and then making tweaks to optimize them
is crucial.
Each previous step should be re-evaluated after you
have had time to analyze the results of your marketing efforts. Let
the data drive you. If it is telling you Facebook or Twitter is your
most effective channel, consider doubling down.
A great social media strategy is never set in stone.
It is a constant work in progress that changes when necessary. So
get out there, create a strategy and start optimizing it as you
continue to grow and learn more about your business and your
audience.
