If there is one thing that all marketing managers are aware of is that they need a killer social media presence to attract and engage existing and potential customers. However, while they know that this is something they need, they don’t always know where to start. There are dozens of social media networks to choose from, lots of different messages to spread, and lots of customers to please.
Instead of trying to get things to work with a fly-by-night social media strategy, here are some tips to put into use now
1. Establish Goals First
During your next marketing meeting, get the group together to establish the goals of your social media campaign. Will you be using social media to bring awareness to products or services; brand awareness in general; or just as a kind of digital billboard to keep your consumers in the loop? The most effective social media strategies take on a specific direction and run with it as aligned with audience needs and wants. This brings us to our next point, identifying who your social media audience is.
2. Identify Your Audience
After you have identified your goals you can then work these ideas into creative marketing towards your ideal customer. You should already know a bit about the demographic group that purchases or uses your products or services; this is the same group you should try to identify with via social media. According to Pew Research, the landscape of the most popular social media networks is as follows:
3. Create a Content Strategy
Now that you are armed with the knowledge that, for example, you want to establish your brand in the eyes of women that have some college education and are between 25-50 you can be more adept at choosing the social networks that work for you. In this particular example, Pinterest might be a good network to go after in addition to Facebook. The next obstacle to tackle would be to determine what kind of visually stimulating data could you create on your social media channels that addresses your branding goal as well as directs users back to your website.
Learn more about social media content strategies.
4. Democratize Communications
For many companies engagement is the most difficult part of the social media strategy. It is one thing to know your goals, create content then share it and another to effectively make people react. It is important that your business is not the only side of the communication coin; input you get back from your consumers should be encouraged as well as objectively monitored. The social media manager(s) who are assigned to communicate with fans or followers should understand the “voice” of the company and work diligently to respond to your fans in a timely and efficient manner that is consistent with your overall brand.
5. Measure, Test, and Measure Again
All of your efforts need to be analyzed at the end of the week or month. Looking at data every day is a bit daunting and does not really give the big picture. Facebook and Twitter both provide fairly robust analytical data already where you can see how your content is being received. You know your strategy is working when your followerbase increases and you are receiving more traffic to your website from your social media networks.
Like all of your other marketing efforts social media should follow a methodical and measureable approach. Follow the above steps to take your business in a direction that is calculated and that can help you to generate the best results.
Thanks for reading,
-Drew Larison
