Most people don’t pick up the phone when telemarketers call anymore. And they don’t read the brochures that show up in their mailboxes. They don’t even read the ads in the newspaper (because they no longer subscribe to the newspaper).
So how do you reach those customers? You show up where they are. And they’re on social media.
That’s why it’s so important to know how to create an effective social media marketing strategy. In this post, we’ll discuss how to go about creating that strategy. Let’s get started.
Review Your Current Social Media Presence
If you already have a social media presence, do an audit. Before you can create an effective strategy for your future social media marketing, it’s very helpful to know where you are now. Which social media platforms are you currently active on? Do you have any inactive accounts?
For your current social media accounts, take a close look at your profiles. Do you have profile pictures and cover images? Is your bio filled out? Have you included the URL of your company website? Have you included your business phone number and physical address?
It’s also helpful to look at your competitors’ social media sites and see how your accounts compare. Are they offering anything to customers that you’re not offering?
Identify Your Target Audience
Before you can effectively message to your target audience, you need to know who they are. One of the biggest social media mistakes people make is they don’t know their target audience. Think about your ideal customer, and be as specific as possible. Here’s an example. Your ideal customer might be a mother of young children. She’s between the ages of 25 and 40. Her household income is over $70,000 per year, and she lives in the United States. She uses Facebook and Instagram, and she prefers online shopping over brick-and-mortar shopping. She is very busy and concerned about her kids’ welfare.
With a target audience in mind as specific as this, you’re in a great position to create content that will meet your customers’ needs and address their concerns.
Create a Social Media Mission Statement
In order to create an effective social media marketing strategy, you need to identify your reason for doing so. Without a good reason, you’ll quickly lose steam, and your work will seem like just one more thing on your to-do list.
Since your mission statement will drive your future actions, think about it carefully. Here’s one example for you: “We will use social media to educate current and future customers about personal finance, with a focus on investing in property.” With a specific mission statement like this, your company will be able to stay focused on the task at hand.
Create Key Metrics
An effective social media marketing strategy includes the identification of key success metrics. How will you measure your success? What indicators will help you to know if you’re reaching your goals?
With Google Analytics at your fingertips, you can measure all kinds of metrics and customize the feedback you receive on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. As you decide which metrics are important to you, consider tracking conversion rate, reach, brand mentions, time spent on your website, and total shares.
Create Engaging Content
Without engaging content, you may as well give up on social media marketing. Quality content is the engine that makes your social media marketing run.
When you think of content, don’t just think about blog posts and text for your social media posts. Images, infographics, ebooks, interviews, press releases, videos, and even memes can all contribute to your overall marketing strategy. In fact, conversion rates are higher on videos and images than they are on straight blog posts, so vary your content, and make it as engaging and current as possible.
Create Management Systems
Using social media management tools can vastly decrease the amount of time and resources you spend on your marketing plan. Social media can be consuming if you don’t develop systems for managing it well. Don’t let yourself be consumed.
Take control of your social media by using a content calendar to keep everyone on the same page regarding schedules, content topics, and promotions. Also, schedule your posts ahead of time, and align your posts with your content calendar.
Analyze and Track Your Progress
Perhaps the most important step is to analyze and track your progress. Using your analytics, you’ll be able to see which posts perform well and which don’t. This will help you with your future content calendar–you can schedule more posts about topics that resonate with your target audience.
Make tweaks as you go along, and don’t get discouraged. By consistently posting to your social media accounts and then capitalizing on what works well according to your analytics, you’ll get into a successful rhythm and make strides toward achieving your marketing goals.
For more information about social media marketing, reach out to us at Park Slope Softworks, your Brooklyn digital marketing company. Be sure to check out our free SEO analysis service now!
