There’s no way around it, if you want to win in business today — and I know you do — you need get active on social media. And I mean really active. Whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or any other platform that’s out there, having a social media strategy is an inescapable part of building and running a successful business.
Although some business and marketing “gurus” may tell you that starting a social media marketing campaign is the most important piece of the puzzle, I disagree. Starting a campaign is just the beginning…
If you want to expand your business and increase revenue, you need to have a solid social media strategy in place. And it needs to be one that you can roll out easily and maintain consistently.
In business, strategy separates the weak from the strong and the winners from the losers.
When you have a solid social media strategy to rely on, you or your team will never fall off track. You’ll be able to move steadily forward and hit your income goals or get the word out about your business, with no hiccups.
Here are 4 must-do steps that will help you build a highly effective social media strategy for your business.
Step #1: Identify Your Social Media Strategy Goals
Never begin a social media strategy without deciding on your goals, first. This is a rookie mistake and one that you want to avoid.
Start by thinking about what you want to use social media for…
Are you trying to spread the word and create interest in your company or services?
Are you planning to sell a product or program?
Do you want potential clients and customers to see you as the go-to expert in your field?
Do you want to connect and interact with your clients?
Knowing exactly what your social media marketing goals are will allow you to design a far more powerful and cost-effective strategy.
Step #2: Who Is Your Ideal Customer?
You might think you already know who your ideal customer is, but are you absolutely sure?
You need to be certain that you have exceptional clarity about your ideal customer before you start creating your social media strategy.
Use this ideal customer identification hack if you’re short on time…
Identify a customer that you truly enjoyed working with in the past and make sure this person achieved great results from your support and services.
Then, ask yourself the following key questions:
What was the main challenge or problem that they wanted to solve?
What did they want to achieve with your product or service?
Where do they like to hang out both online and offline?
When you know the answers to these questions, you can move on to the next step.
Step #3: Choose Your Channels With Care
This one is critical.
When you’re about to start a social media marketing campaign, it’s easy to feel tempted to post on every single platform you’ve ever heard of….
Resist this temptation with everything you’ve got. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself splintering your focus and allocating highly valuable resources — such as time and money — to social media platforms that do not give you any returns.
The takeaway? Go big on social media marketing but make sure that you choose just one or two platforms where you can really double down your efforts.
Look at the places where your ideal customer hangs out.
Do they love Facebook? Are they all about Instagram? Are they always on TikTok? Then that’s where they’ll find you.
Once you have a list of potential platforms where your ideal clients hang out, ask yourself this question: Which platforms do I feel most comfortable using?
Maybe your audience loves TikTok, but you just can't understand it! Or you love YouTube, but your audience isn't there.
Find a platform that works both for you and your ideal customers, and that's where you should start first.
A great social media strategy is not about spreading yourself thin. It’s about providing incredible content with laser-sharp focus and depth.
You can only do that when you concentrate on one or two platforms. Not all of them.
Step #4: Build A Content Calendar
Now that you've got the platform, it's time to define what exactly you are going to share!
That's where content creation and content calendars come in.
Content is what you share - it may be in the form of blog posts, videos, quotes, infographics - and content calendars are how you plan to distribute your content on your platform of choice.
Content calendars are crucial and can make or break your social media marketing campaigns.
When you fill a calendar in advance, you will be able to follow through with your marketing campaign without wasting time thinking of new ideas every single day.
Remember that consistency is key when it comes to a social media strategy. Being consistent with your content - whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly posts - is what will make your brand and business succeed in the long term game.
You will also be able to target your content so it contributes to your goals.
For instance, let’s say you’re about to launch a program or eBook. You can make sure that in the weeks leading up to the launch, your social media content is designed to stir your customer’s curiosity and provide value around the topic of your book or program.
It’s a clever strategy and it will save you a ton of time and money in the long run.
A great social media strategy allows you to begin the execution phase of your campaign with little room for doubt.
You’ll be able to dive into social media with confidence, maximize the benefits, and turn those likes, hearts and smileys into increased income and growth for your business.
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