We’re looking at the best way to get your social media marketing strategy off of the ground. Think of this guide as a template for the optimal social media marketing strategy. Read on for all the details.
Choose marketing goals that align with business objectives
When choosing your initial goals, remember to be SMART about them. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
For example, a goal can be to “use Instagram as an e-commerce store tool for younger users and heighten your sales by [however much] by the end of this quarter”.
Learn everything you can about your audience
Before you can market to them, you’ll need to know who your audience is. Create a profile of who you expect to buy your product. Cover the basics (age, location, income, job, etc.) but also cover their interests and why they would go with your brand.
And then back it all up with data. Use your social media analytics to make sure you’re on the right track. There are a lot of examples of products made for one purpose, only to realise another demographic is interested. A common example might be razors for men being bought by women.
Get to know your competition
It’s time to conduct a competitive analysis. You want to look at any similar brands, ask what they are doing well, and what they are not doing well, and get an idea of what is expected of you in your industry. Amongst all that knowledge will be some hidden opportunities to exploit.
You can also use social listening, which allows you to search for a relevant term or a company name, etc. to gather data on their social media accounts. You can see what they’re sharing and what people are engaging with.
Set up accounts and improve profiles
The first step here is deciding what networks to use. This is where your audience knowledge and set demographic come in handy. You can focus a B2B brand on LinkedIn, a Gen Z brand on TikTok, target mothers on Facebook, etc. Look into Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, Spotify, and Reddit to cover all bases.
Make sure to use keywords in all of your accounts that your target audience is likely to search for, so you are easy to find. Be consistent with your branding to ensure that everyone recognizes you when they find you.
If you already have your social media accounts set up, it’s time to do an audit to see what is working and what isn’t. Look at the data and ask who is engaging with you. What networks are your target audiences using, etc?
And keep an eye out for imposter accounts. If you see any, report them, as their sheer presence as part of your followers can be harmful to your brand.
Create a social media content calendar
It’s very important when you post, not just what you post. Not only will a social media content calendar allow you to spread out the content you have, but it will allow you to keep to the most optimal schedule for results.
It will also allow you to mix your content. Not only have you got various content formats to work with for your marketing strategy, (photo, podcast, video, etc.) but you’ve got curated content that will allow you to share audiences and you’ve got user-generated content from your audience.
Create high-quality content
The concept of what makes for high-quality content, especially marketing content, has changed. Out is the idea that quality content in general needs to be high definition, flashy, showing that hustle, and in is the concept of humanity. Imperfect looks, fuzzy camera focus, and genuine authenticity is in.
As for marketing, users are well aware of when they’re getting advertised to and are quick to switch off. The goal, therefore, has shifted from getting the users’ attention to keeping it. Users don’t mind product placement as long as the content is genuinely entertaining.
You can combine these two concepts in your content, hitting all sorts of trends. Show off your product in trends that focus on how it works, reviews, etc., and show off your brand in content that focuses on your team and your principles to get to know you.
Track your performance and adjust
If something is broken, fix it. Look at your performance metrics within your social network accounts to see what’s landing and what isn’t. You can use this data to re-evaluate and test new ideas, and ultimately, you will start the cycle all over again. This makes for a marketing strategy that is constantly improving and, importantly, adapting to the societal-wide changes that impact social media.
If you’re interested in more advice on social media marketing and affiliate marketing, you can look at our blog, which is always kept up to date with the latest information. Or, for a more personalized approach, book a free call with a member of our team. Even better, we’ve got the Elevate Summit kicking off on June 14th, featuring expert advice from talks, panels, and workshops. Get your tickets now so you don’t miss out.
