You know that your business should be using social media, but do you have a social media plan or strategy? If not you could end up wasting valuable time as you flounder around in a sea of social media. An online networking strategy should form an important part of your marketing mix. Take a look at this guide on how to formulate an effective social media plan for your business…
It’s important to create a good social media strategy
Top tips for creating an effective social media strategy
1. Do your research
First off, you need to see which social media channels are going to be right for you. Start off by doing some research online – are there any mentions of you company on Twitter? Has anyone posted a video using your product on YouTube? It’s important to know which platforms you already have a presence on. Now think about the demographic of your potential customer base. Are they business people on LinkedIn? 30 to 40-something women on Pinterest? Or 25 to 44-year-old tweeters on Twitter? Think about which social media platforms are going to be right for you so you know what to focus your energy on.
2. Plan how often you’re going to engage
Once you’ve decided which media networks you’re going to focus on, you need to look at what frequency you’re going to engage with users. Very infrequent interaction can be worse than no interaction at all, so make sure you can schedule time to dedicate to your social media activity.
3.Think about what to post
Social media is a fantastic way for you to show off your business’s personality and let your potential customers get to know you. Think about what you want to post – links to blog posts, interesting articles and videos, observations, questions, etc. You also need to be prepared to start conversations with your followers and respond to their tweets and Facebook comments.
4. Follow the 80% – 20% rule
Social networks are great places for promoting your business and advertising your products or services, but you don’t want to bombard your followers with self-promotion. Aim to post content that matters to your followers (industry news, interesting articles, etc) around 80% of the time, and post about your business the other 20%. This isn’t a hard and fast rule – you can gauge which posts your followers prefer over time – but the general idea is to make sure your content is fun and engaging, rather than just a sales pitch.
5. Give your followers ‘added value’
Following on from the previous point, you should aim to give your followers things they’ll benefit from by starting a blog, writing articles, creating infographics, etc.
6. Consider running a competition or promotion
Depending on what type of business you’re running, a competition or promotion can be a good way of attacting more followers or fans, and encouraging them to interact. Only do it if it’s appropriate to your business and if you can afford to give away a product or service, or offer a discount. If so, consider running a competition or promotion every couple of months or so.
7. Pimp your Twitter/Facebook pages
Use things like a customised Twitter background or custom Facebook apps to personalise your pages and get the most out of them.
8. Review your social media activity
Keep track of what works for you by using Google Analytics or similar, to see which visitors to your website are being referred via social media. Are you getting more engagement on Facebook than Twitter? Are business prospects coming through LinkedIn rather than elsewhere? Don’t be afraid to change tack if something isn’t working.
Would you like bespoke advice on how to create a social media strategy? Or would you like me to manage your social media plan for you? Get in touch with me today to discuss how I can help you with social media management. Do you have a social media strategy? Leave a comment and let me know.
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