With the evolution of digital technology, now almost every big or small business company has started their social media presence. Here is the thing Social Media Marketing can help you reach out to your audience irrespective of whether you are running a small startup or managing operations for an Enterprise, and can do wonders in building up brand resonance which could finally lead towards higher customer acquisition. However if you want your businesses to thrive, then you will need a successful social media marketing strategy.
To that end, this article will be giving you a step by step process to create an efficient social media marketing strategy which anyone can follow even beginners.
What is Social Media Marketing?
But before walking through the strategy, It is necessary to comprehend what Social Media Marketing(SMM) actually means? Social media marketing is the process of advertising your business by using social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter LinkedIn and TikTok. The aim is to generate interest from your customers, keeping them engaged and ensuring their potential future conversion into paying clients.
Social media market services are typically offered by social media marketing agencies that help businesses prepare and carry out their own plans. This covers services like creating content, paid advertising, managing a community and analyzing the performance. Whether you hire a social media marketing agency or do it yourself, strategy is key.
Why should you have a social media marketing strategy?
Posting on social media without a plan is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing if it sticks. An effective social media strategy allows you to establish goals, know your audience and allocate resources correctly.
Some of the advantages you will get from having a social media marketing strategy:
1. It enforces consistency:
Simply having a strategy in place will help you with posting regularly, and that is one golden rule to remember — stay top of mind.
2. Targeting:
Since you will know who to reach out too, your time and other resources can be spent more effectively.
3. Measurement:
A strategy allows you to measure your effectiveness and change what is not working
How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy in 5 Simple Steps
1. Set clear goals
The very first thing you want to do is start defining your goals for social media marketing. Think about what you want to gain from social media. Some common goals include:
Increase brand awareness
Increase website traffic
Generate leads or sales
Create a tribe out of the brand
The academic may preach goal-setting, but are they SMART? — specific, measurable, achievable relevant and time-based. So what may have started off as ‘I need/want more followers’ has turned into a metric that you can measure for improvement — “I want 20% growth in Instagram followers within the next 3 months.
2. Know your audience
You must understand who your audience is to create the content that people will enjoy. Research who is the primary demographic you want to target, and what do they like? We also need to know their interests, pain points, behavior on social media. Facebook Audience Insights: You can use this tool to gather audience dataGoogle Analytics: receive in-depth analytic and demographic information about visitors, such as acquisition source, what people do on your site, sign up for Email List Builder wizard OS Access Control.
3. Create a content plan
At the very center of your social media marketing strategy is content. Think of this content plan like a schedule that specifies the type and frequency of posts, channels where you are going to post.
Types of content you can produce are;
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Images and graphics:
These are absolutely necessary on social media platforms such as Instagram—or Pinterest.
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Videos:
Video content works similarly on all social media platforms, especially TikTok can be used as a way to promote your brand or business in general.
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A Warm-up:
Get some blog posts and articles published well before you intend to pitch any conventional publishers get Resource DUDE Moreover they are a warm up for your other campaigns; these will incrementally send traffic toward the new website that inevitably followed gaining an advice book.
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User-generated content:
Ask your audience to generate content that reflects them using your product or service.
Create a blend of promotional (sales, discounts) and engaging content that delivers value in the lives by adding tips or motivation to your audience.
4. Connect with your audience
As the saying goes, social media is a two way street. It is not all about slapping out content, but engaging with your audience. Continue to reply in commenting, messages and tagging Start a conversation, request feedback and give your followers the feel that you value their opinions.
It strengthens your relationship with those who engage, makes it more likely for people to see and continue viewing your content due to the nature of modern social media algorithms, can tip someone from a casual viewer too loyal customer/ audience member.
5. Social Media Marketing Tools
In order to better handle your social media marketing, you should try this tool that can help automate the process. Below is a list of useful resources.
You can use social media scheduling tools such as Buffer, Hoot suite or Later to schedule posts ahead of time instead of logging in each day and wasting more hours.
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Analytics tools
Tools like Google Analytics, Sprout Social, or platform native insights to track how well you are doing.
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Design tools
Canva : a simple graphic design tool to help you create professional-quality images for free, with no experience needed.