Social media has become the medium of choice for successful businesses to communicate with their customers, from promoting products and services to engaging in conversations.
That’s not to say that other forms of digital marketing have become obsolete; however, if you’re not on social media, you’re losing a lot of business.
Whether you just don’t know how to get started or you haven’t joined due to the misconception that it’s a waste of time, here are some pointers to start your business’s journey on the road to social media management.
Create a Strategy
Whatever social media platforms you decide to use, create a specific strategy for each one.
Each platform is different and has a set of particular practices that work best for engaging the audience. This will help you create targeted, relevant content.
Prioritize the quality of your content over the number of posts and sites that you use. Don’t try to manage five platforms at once, because the quality of your content will suffer.
Ask yourself these questions to start:
- Why am I using this platform?
- Who do I want to reach through it?
- What type of posts work best there?
- How are my posts unique?
Set SMART Goals
Before making or enacting a new plan, it’s smart to set the goals you wish to achieve with it. Use the SMART goal system to lay the foundation for your social media marketing strategy.
- Specific – Your goals should state exactly what you expect to accomplish
- Measurable – Be able to answer whether or not you reach your goal clearly
- Attainable – Don’t set goals that are impossible to reach, as this will only discourage you. Set reasonable, realistic expectations
- Relevant – Your goals for social media should fit into the goals of your overall marketing strategy. They should be relevant to each other
- Timely – Stay on track with your goals by setting dates and times by which to accomplish them. This creates accountability
Identify Your Audience
If you want your message to be effective, you should identify the specific audience you want to reach with it.
Develop a customer or subscriber profile using industry information, demographics, and interests to pin-point the kind of content they want to see or products they want to purchase. With social media management, you want to tailor your content to your audience’s needs and interests.
Be Consistent
Stay consistent in how often and at what times you post to your social media.
Some platforms require you to be active multiple times a day to get the most potential from your audience. Consider how each platform’s algorithm works and how content is curated when determining your posting strategy.
Watch Trends
Keep your eye out for new and popular trends emerging on each platform. Utilizing a new trend that aligns with your message in your social media strategy can help your brand rise in popularity.
That doesn’t mean that you should jump on the bandwagon of every new trend you see. If it isn’t relevant to your message, it will confuse your audience and potentially drive them away.
Pick and choose wisely and stay original.
Analyze Results
In order to know whether or not your strategy is working, you need to measure and analyze your results. If you don’t, you won’t be able to easily tell if it’s working or not.
You can do this simply by identifying a few key metrics that are important to your brand, such as:
- Reach and engagement
- Impressions, shares, and mentions
- Clicks and interactions
- Likes, comments, and views
Track these regularly so you know when to adjust your strategy to improve them.
Getting started on social media doesn’t have to be a daunting task. If you take the time to do it strategically, it can turn out to be very successful for your business.
If time is an issue for you, employ someone to take over your social media management. At Proximo Marketing Strategies, our team of experts can help you create and execute a social media strategy and manage your content.
If you would like more information about this service, call us at or visit our web page.
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