The 5 Must-Have Elements to Boost your Social Media Strategy

You heard about social media being the next big thing. So, you go and create accounts on every social media platform out there and start posting, without any rhyme or reason. Unfortunately, trying to build a brand without a clearly defined social media marketing strategy can do more harm than good for your business today. After all, it is 2018. It is not just about existing anymore. Today, social media strategies have to be attuned to engagement and understanding the audience. The spotlight is on quality content, vibrant visuals and heart-wrenching stories.

In this post, we’ll walk you through some of the key social media strategy tips that can give your brand the much-needed facelift this year.

How to Make a Social Media Marketing Strategy

1.    Identify S.M.A.R.T Goals

Source: tutor2u.net

For a truly effective social media marketing strategy, it is important to define your objectives and goals in advance. Your social media goals should not just be aligned to your overall marketing goals but also be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

2.    Choose the Right Channels

Source: smartsimplemarketing.com

Choosing the right channel is important to avoid spending a lot of time, effort and valuable resources into growing a social media following on a channel, only to find that it is not yielding the right results. This may depend on your brand values, your product, and the content on your site. For example, if your product is a food blog, you might want to target social media channels such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.

3.    Get the Content Edge

 Source: addthis.com

One of the most common mistakes companies make while crafting their social media marketing content strategy is posting the same content on different social media channels. Since the different social media networks have a distinctive target audience, it is important to post different content. Also, the best way to figure out what content your audience is most interested in is to keep testing and focus on key engagement metrics which provide insight into which type of content is working and what’s not.

4.    Find Inspiration from Competitors

 Source: netbase.com

 A great source of inspiration while crafting your social media strategy is focusing on what is working (or not) for your competitors. Collate a list of five to ten competitors and then evaluate their follower count and their overall social media presence. Check how many times they’ve posted and their engagement statistics to evaluate what works for your competitors and then try integrating it into your strategy.

5.    Track your Social Media Metrics

 Source: simplymeasured.com

 If you are engaging in social media, you need to measure your efforts. When writing a social media strategy, it is important to transcend beyond the vanity metrics and look at broader business goals. Find the right tools to collect and monitor that data so that it becomes much more manageable and actionable.