If you are looking to learn how to develop a social media strategy, we have gathered in this article the basic guidelines to start designing your positioning in one of the dimensions of digital marketing that has grown in recent times.
Develop a Winner Social Media Strategy: Marketing Made Easy
Brands end up being disappointed with their presence many times on social media. So, most of the time, the problem is one; the lack of a strategic plan that guides its actions, initially extracting the maximum from the channels and optimizing the investment made.
As networks are nowadays one of the main social channels of communication in the online world; any company that wants to have a successful professional presence on the Internet has a professional presence in these media.
Whether for the generation of Leads or even the final sale. As in the case of e-commerce; example, social networks are fundamental tools for brands that want to have an online presence that generates real results.
The big obstacle to getting this exposure on social networks is precisely the lack of planning of the various actions; and that’s why we put together this little script on how to create a marketing strategy on social networks.
So, what is a social media marketing strategy?
A social media strategy is a document that outlines your social media goals. The tactics you use to reach them, and the metrics you track to measure your progress.
The social media marketing strategy should list all existing and planned social media accounts. As well as specific goals for each active platform.
These goals need to be in line with the company’s broader digital marketing strategy. Finally, a good social media plan should define roles and responsibilities within the team and outline the rhythm of reporting.
So let’s see how to create an assertive and efficient social media marketing strategy.
Roadmap for creating a social media marketing strategy
So, check out the step-by-step guides below to learn how to develop a social media marketing strategy. Start planning to get the most out of these channels.
1 – Initial planning
Our first tip for anyone looking to develop a social media marketing strategy is to plan everything first. Creating profiles and pages and posting randomly on those profiles is useless if you don’t have a strategic plan to guide your actions.
Everything in digital marketing requires advanced planning. I recognize that the operational part is more engaging than the strategic planning stage; but in this case, the rest is just a waste of time and resources.
Moreover, it’d be good to note that social media planning and management can become a full-time job eventually. After all, technology and the internet are continuously evolving, and so are various social media trends. And so, to keep up with the competition. Having the right team to oversee your social media marketing efforts is ideal.
Working with a social media agency, for instance, can help business owners kickstart. Optimize their business’s social media management, from planning a winning social media strategy to content creation and engagement. Dealing with a trustworthy social media agency can also help you save time and effort while ensuring having a solid social media marketing plan.
2 – Definition of objectives
The second phase of your social media marketing plan defines your brand’s goals. Regarding its performance on the various social media available. For example, the brand has the following main goals:
- Brand Exposure: Make the brand more and more known by the public, thus creating the first point of contact with the target audience that you want to reach;
- Traffic Generation: One of the options in terms of marketing objectives on social networks is to generate qualified traffic to the website to increase website activity and thereby create more conversion opportunities;
- Lead Generation: Creation of interest in the brand’s products; or services through digital marketing actions that allow the establishment of an initial contact to present your products and services;
- Sales: It is the ultimate goal of most companies on social networks. It is aimed exclusively at selling some type of product; or service online or physically.
There is no way to create a marketing strategy on social media if you do not have these well-defined goals. As they will even be part of your sales funnel.
3 – Creating the Marketing Persona
The third step for those who want to know how to create a marketing strategy on social networks is to create the Marketing Persona. The personification of the target audience you want to reach, detailed in the initial planning stage.
At this point, using the right research tools, identify more detailed aspects of the profile and behavior of the audience. Or audiences the brand is trying to influence through its social media marketing efforts.
Creating your ideal customer or marketing personas for your social media strategy can help set you apart from your competitors. You can easily capture the attention of your target audience because you know what they want in a social media post, making engagement seamless and more effective.
Even though the competitive analysis process, it is possible to determine which social networks a brand needs to invest in. Every social network has its characteristics and audience, and you need to consider that.
Trying to be on everyone and believing that it will grab more of your attention is nonsense; and will only make you waste time talking to audiences who may not be interested in what you have to offer.
5 – Suitability of the website
Another tip for those wondering how to create a social media marketing strategy is to check if your website has the resources to meet the technical specifications of the most modern online marketing tools.
For example, does your website platform allow you to install a Facebook pixel to create custom audiences or track conversions on Facebook posts or ads?
If the platform is unable to track results or generate leads for these actions, then there is no point in investing in a social media marketing strategy.
So, how do you ensure that your social media marketing strategy is suitable for your website? To start, you can check if a social marketing plugin or analytics tool can work on your website. YOu can also talk to your web developer to find out your website’s technical specifications and compatibility with your social media marketing tools.
6 – Creation of channels
This is one of the aspects of creating a marketing strategy on social networks that many think is intuitive; and that is why it doesn’t deserve so much care. Read mistake. So, how to create a social media marketing strategy if you don’t take care of the basic technical settings of your channels?
Some technical settings need to be analyzed very well; whether creating a profile on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook page. For example:
- Channel Categorization: Some social media like Facebook, for example, allow you to categorize your page. If this is not taken into account; you may miss out on good opportunities, especially in internal searches;
- Social Media Optimization: Your presence on social networks can help you to publicize your brand also on the answer pages of major search engines like Google; as long as you do a good job of optimizing your profile;
- Graphic Elements: Everything in social media is communication; and the graphic elements of a profile or pages play an important role in this process. Therefore, you must plan this entire process from the beginning.
In a rush to start posting content, many overlook some of these technical issues; resulting in a complete failure in social media marketing.
My advice is that you delve into the tools and resources available on social networks to reach your full potential; and coordinate them with other aspects of digital marketing to create synergies between the different actions you are trying to accomplish.
7 – Content development
If you are wondering how to create a social media marketing strategy. Content marketing is one of the main directions you should take. So, contrary to what many people think. Social media marketing is not about advertising, but about building relationships that create the conditions to showcase your product or service.
That’s why, in our social media course, I emphasize that creating relevant content; that adds value to people’s daily lives is essential to succeed in this area.
Furthermore, it is necessary to produce content to feed your feed and adapt it to the various media available. For example, Twitter is primarily a content propagation network, while Facebook is a social network that is characterized by greater engagement.
Therefore, the presentation of the content needs to be different. To learn more, we suggest that you read our articles Content for Social Networks and how to Create Content for Social Networks.
8 – Monitoring and metrics
My final tip for creating a social media marketing strategy is to define a plan for monitoring and analyzing the results of social media efforts.
After all, as William Edwards Deming said, “What can’t be measured can’t be managed,” don’t you agree?
So, to accurately measure the results of your social media marketing actions, you will first need to correctly configure the Conversion Attribution tab in your Google Analytics dashboard.
You must also install the Facebook Conversion Pixel on your pages so that it is possible to identify in the Facebook Ads Panel the conversions that had your account as the source of access.
So, avoid vanity metrics and focus on what matters: conversions. Posting on Facebook or Instagram that doesn’t generate results is not marketing; it’s just a post…
Social Media Strategy: Conclusion
Developing a marketing strategy on social networks involves a lot of initial work; many people are discouraged but know that if you want to achieve real results in these channels, it ends up being worth investing the time necessary for its elaboration. Therefore, creating a social media marketing plan is worth the investment.
If you are interested in how to create a social media marketing strategy; we believe these starting points give you a good start.
