6 Steps for a Successful Social Media Strategy

6 Tips for a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy

By ||Published On: January 31st, 2019||Categories: Marketing, Social Media||

Social media is ever growing and involves more than just having a profile. With 84% of all adults aged 18 to 29 using social media, it is no longer enough to just be there. Customers expect companies to be interactive and genuine. They are often less likely to pick up the phone or email customer service. Instead, they expect to build a relationship with companies they do business with via social media. So what are the 6 key steps for a successful social media marketing strategy? 

Determine Social Media Marketing Strategy Goals & Metrics

Define the potential value of a new customer, then the monetary value of your product or service (even if that varies). Always establish goals that are attainable and measurable. Let those goal drive how you move forward with a social media strategy. The goals will help determine which channels and tactics should be implemented. It is also important to track the progress of your goals. Each platform has helpful metrics to gauge your social media marketing efforts to determine whether you are achieving the set goals and what areas need improvements.

Know Your Target Audience

Find your demographics, then figure out where and how to best target them. To start the process, here are three key questions for locating your target audience:

  • What channels are they browsing?
  • What are their browsing preferences?
  • What times are they active?

There are plenty of tools online to help you research customer demographics and know which audiences use which platform, best times to post on each channel, etc.

Know Your Competition

Another way to learn how to best serve your target audience is by observing your competition. Survey the competitors you compete closest with, and those perhaps competing at a larger scale, and audit their channels. To find these competitors, simply google your top keywords and search local businesses in markets you do business in.

Good questions to ask when auditing your competitors’ channels include:

  • What channels are they targeting? (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
  • What are they doing well? (Do they have a large following, post frequently or have engaging conversations with followers?)
  • What could use improvement?
  • How often do they post?
  • What kind of content do they post? (Photos, videos, events, etc.)

While taking cues from your competition is helpful, make sure to still be authentic to your brand. Find what your competition is doing well and do it better! Each brand has their own voice, so trying to change your voice to fit someone else’s runs the risk of seeming inauthentic. Don’t over think it; this will keep you from getting started.

Create Engaging Content

Now that you know what your goals are, and how to achieve them, create interesting content to support them! Look to your competitors, or other successful channels, for inspiration while keeping your content on-brand. Develop a consistent look and tone for your posts throughout your channels and address each channel individually (since each channel’s audience and content preference differs).

Think about the types of content you can use to fit your brand. Some types of content perform better overall, on all platforms and age groups. For instance, video content generates more organic reach and engagement than photos on many platforms and 81% of consumers want to see more short-form videos from brands.

When the look and tone of your strategy are solid, create a content calendar. This is useful for planning your posts and determining how often the posts will be published. Creating a content calendar is also helpful in maintaining consistency across all channels by providing a broad overview. Firefly Marketing has a free 2024 content calendar template (as featured on HubSpot!) that you can download today! 

Optimize Your Profile

Similar to websites, social media channels are also optimized for SEO and usability purposes. These tactics make it easy for customers to find the information they’re looking for. Accomplish optimizing your profiles by applying relevant keywords where possible (such as your bio), applying brand consistency through the look and naming conventions of your usernames and URLs, and confirm there are no duplicate channels that could negatively affect your brand.

A few ways to optimize your profile include:

  • Updating your profile photo and cover photos with clear images that represent your brand
  • Linking back to your website
  • Setting up Auto-Responses on messenger apps
  • Fill out everything available to you on the profile

Analyze Your Efforts

Effective social media marketing involves trial and error. The best strategies are found through testing content over and over again until you have the perfect formula. Although most businesses are using at least one social channel, only 48 percent of businesses claim to see a significant ROI. Which is why monitoring your efforts and collecting data is essential for improving your social media marketing strategy. Most platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have built-in tools to monitor your posts. Google Analytics can also help analyze how traffic that arrives from social channels behave and if they are getting the content they expect or not. Try different approaches to see what works and use your tools to see responses. Don’t let your marketing become stale.

Now that you have a starting point, get your social media marketing strategy into action!

Feel free to contact us with any questions on social media marketing or how Firefly can help with your social media approach.

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Categories: Marketing, Social Media

About the Author: Vanessa Le

Design & Marketing Intern – As a natural harmonizer, Vanessa brings a warm, cooperative, and creative energy into the workplace. She thrives on change and always brings new ideas to every task. Her knack for collaboration and forming meaningful relationships with those around her keeps her motivated. If she’s not wrapped up with school or work, you can find Vanessa exploring, socializing, or daydreaming.

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