Why Do I need a Social Media Strategy?
Social media content and strategy are a huge component of many companies’ marketing plans these days. The reason is that it is inexpensive and has the potential to reach large numbers of people if done well. However, simply throwing content out there won’t necessarily help your business generate new leads. It takes a carefully thought out strategy and consistent followthrough with your content calendar to make it effective. Let’s look at a few things you can do to start utilizing social media for your business strategy.
Choose Platforms that Work for You
Hundreds of social media platforms exist around the web. Knowing which ones will help you connect with your target market is key. You might ask, “Why not use them all to reach the most people?” But, not every social media platform will connect you with your target audience.
It takes time and effort to create content and respond to comments across multiple platforms. The more platforms you add to this strategy, the more time and effort you can expect to spend on social media alone. Some companies may have the personnel and resources to devote to this type of strategy, however, for most businesses it is not practical.
Starting with a few relevant social media platforms will help you spend your time and resources most effectively until you are ready to add new platforms. For many people, a Facebook and Instagram marketing strategy works well, while some may choose LinkedIn and Twitter or other specialty sites. What you choose depends on several factors of your business and target market.
Which social media sites are best?
It depends on what your goals are for social media. Often, the best way to choose your platforms is to figure out where your target market is spending time online. Where is your demographic hanging out? Where are they shopping? Where are they socializing? What attracts and holds their attention? These are all factors that will help you start to narrow down which social media platforms will give you the most direct avenue to reach these people where they are.
How can I engage with my target market?
Your content strategy should also begin with your target market. Some research into the demographics will help you understand how they use the social media platforms you have chosen. Look at some of your competitors to see what they are doing well and how their customers are using the platform. What kind of content is being posted? What are customers engaging with? What Facebook groups are the customers a part of? This will help you create a plan for not only what type of content to post and when to post, but will also give you some insight into how customers may engage with your brand online.
What about paid ads?
How can I market on social media without paying for it?
You can post content on social media for free. You can also research and choose hashtags, groups, forums, and other avenues that may help your brand to get noticed or reach a larger audience than simply throwing content out there. Paid ads are useful for targeting specific demographics with specific messages and offers. Whether the offer is a free download that helps the potential customer with something specific, a discount on a product, or the opportunity to learn something, ads can often reach a higher number of people than organic content alone.
Eventually, both ads and organic content will create a well-rounded social media strategy for your business. For some businesses, the cost of ads is too much to get started, and therefore many people choose to stick with regular posts until the budget allows for more.
How often should I post?
Post frequency depends on the type of business you have as well as the platform you are working with. there are recommended numbers of posts for some of the bigger social media platforms. These numbers often range from between a few times a week to several times per day. The amount you post when getting started may be dependent on the level of resources you have to devote to this type of marketing.
Perhaps you or one of your employees has one to two hours per week to create and schedule content, or perhaps there are resources to allow five hours of content creation and response to engagement every week. Whatever that looks like for you, the biggest key is to just get started and be consistent. Whether you can post once or twelve times per week, just be consistent and open to refining your strategy over time.
Struggling to Keep Up with Social Media?
If you are struggling to maintain a consistent social media schedule and need help balancing and managing resources or creating content, feel free to reach out and see how we can help reach your social media marketing strategy goals.