Social media is now more important in marketing than ever before. Some would even argue that it has already outstripped all other forms of marketing and will soon dominate the market. Regardless of its scope, social media is here to stay. If you haven’t developed a social media strategy for your business yet, what are you waiting for?

Follow our eight easy tips to supercharge your social media strategy and watch your content go viral. Let’s get started.

Set Your Goals

Let’s face it, without a good plan in place, you’re not very likely to even begin your project. That’s why our first priority when creating a social media strategy is planning: develop objectives and goals that you wish to accomplish.

Make sure your social media plan is in alignment with your whole marketing strategy and don’t forget to write it down. A plan not on paper isn’t a plan.

Also, there are a few criteria for setting your goals:

  1. Goals involve numbers (for example, 1000 Facebook followers)
  2. Goals have deadlines (set a date and stick to it)
  3. Goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based)

Find Out About Your Audience

Knowing your audience is essential to developing a good social media strategy. Knowing who they are, what they want, and what motivates them is a good place to begin. There are a few ways you can learn more about your audience:

  • Make use of forums where your audience hangs out
  • Investigate demographics
  • Answer all comments on your blog and social media sites
  • Collect feedback

Once you know who they are and what they want, the challenge of developing a social media strategy is much less daunting. Now that you have their attention, you need to show them that your company cares about them and isn’t “just another company”.

Host Contests

Creating an effective social media contest is one of the most effective tools you can use. Not only will it increase your visibility, but it will boost your followers and engagement. Make the prize something attractive, like a new phone, that you know they will want. Choose your social media platform, create the contest, and start promoting! Get your audience to do some of the promotional work by asking them to comment and share after completing contest registration.

Craft Content Carefully

You should know that the same content that works on one platform won’t necessarily work on another. This is because each social media site has a specific purpose that your content must be crafted to. You wouldn’t post a cute beach photo on LinkedIn any more than you would write an essay on Instagram (although people have tried). Craft your content to the platform carefully and don’t be afraid to edit it several times before posting.

Luckily, there are a few general rules for creating content on social media that you can apply to any of your posts.

  • Use direct language with your audience
  • Begin posts with an attention grabber
  • Be versatile (use different types of content)
  • Use plugins for auto-posting and scheduling
  • Always write descriptions for your links

Don’t be too Pushy

Social media is not the place for traditional marketing methods. They don’t work because people don’t want to be sold something, they want to discover something. The more subtle your content is, the more likely the viewer is to take the bait. If you provide them with interesting content for free and build their trust in your brand now, they’ll be more likely to buy from you later.

Emphasize Video Content

Video has quickly become the most viewed form of content on social media. If you want your content viewed, liked, and shared, investing in better audio and video recording devices will only boost your social media marketing.

Live videos are currently very popular on social media. This is because it’s a form of interaction, a conversation. While live streaming your content, you can interact with viewers by responding to comments or even video calls (such as Zoom). Through these live interactions, you are transformed from a business to a person, which will make the viewer trust you and want to buy from your company.

Make a Connection

Connecting with your audience is a great way to get them to care about your brand. By engaging with them over social media, your customers will feel appreciated and want to spread your content more and more.

You can connect with your audience by:

  • Connecting on Twitter via chats or retweets
  • Taking part in Facebook groups that your target audience does
  • Always replying to comments on your platforms

The social media landscape is constantly changing. The strategy that worked for you today might not work next week, or even tomorrow for that matter. Algorithms change and so should your marketing methods. In this ever-changing environment, staying relevant is vital.

Conclusion

We hope these tips will help you to develop your own killer social media strategy with confidence. With social media as the main marketing tool these days, it’s better to start sooner rather than later. Make a plan and give it a go today!

Originally published at https://www.mycustomer.com on June 23, 2020.