Social Media Marketing: Strategy 101

With 2017 well underway and a calendar year of holidays and seasonal sales periods ahead of us, let’s talk about your social media strategy.

I'd Rather Not Talk About It

I won’t pretend to know what you are thinking right now, but for me, whenever people start talking about social media strategy these days, I tend to shut down. Everybody is an expert. Everybody claims to have a solution or optimization that will boost some conversion metric. Everybody has hacked some secret to immediate growth.

Doctors hate it.

The results they boast that don’t quite seem to be directly related to your business. Does it matter if my Reach is up? If my Impressions are down? What if my Growth is there, now what?

There are a few solutions out there who will set you up on their software, analyze all the data from your platforms, deliver you reports, and manage your social media channels, all for the low cost of the GDP of a small country. If you can afford to pay an outside agency to manage your social media, more power to you. While I feel it leads to a disconnect between the heart/language of your brand and the consumer, I applaud your financial status.

This isn’t an article to put down brands that pay for social media management agencies, nor is it to belittle your brand for its grassroots, word-of-mouth social media beginnings. This isn’t meant to be a definitive guide since, in 6 months, anything and everything can shift in the world of social media. What this is meant to be is a reminder. Have a strategy. Every brand knows they need to have social media channels. Most brands know there needs to be strategies for each channel. A few brands know how to maximize their use of their primary channel. No brands have the time or money to waste on channels that don’t add value. 

Be Strategic

The reminder to the reader to view each channel strategically to their brand message and business model.

An example is Twitter, while one of the larger user bases, 1.3 billion according to Brandwatch. When you think about a customer journey on that platform, there seems to be a disconnect. If you sell outdoor recreation products, do you think your customer is shopping for them on Twitter? Have you ever bought anything linked through Twitter? Maybe Twitter is where you update your follower base on events that your brand is attending. Perhaps you are running a secret sale just for your social media followers. Be strategic.

Another example is YouTube, with around 30 million visitors per day and almost 5 billion videos watched every day (according to Fortunelords). With over half the demographic being between the ages of 25-44, and the gender split at 38% female versus 62% male, this could be a prime channel for your brand to market. However, opportunity doesn’t always correlate to channel success. Perhaps you have personally bought something after watching a video, perhaps not. More than likely not. But YouTube is the perfect product/brand education platform. Save your customer service team countless hours fielding questions. Save the customer the hassle of your contact form or call queue. Be strategic.

Even Snapchat could have value to your business. Shameless advertisements? Good luck. Behind the scenes? Good idea. Do your research. There are 2.5 billion Snaps per day (according to a SEC report) with the user base made of almost 50% Millennials. Even with the shots that Instagram has taken at them, Snapchat is still an incredibly popular platform for the younger demographic. Anyone who has had the pleasure of sitting through a mass media/communications or marketing class in college knows that traditional marketing targets customers before they even have buying power. Not every brand will fit the Snapchat crowd, but if it does, a lifestyle and brand ambassador features would resonate with a younger crowd. Be strategic.

Because Facebook is straightforward in their approach and value to your business, I will not linger on the point, other than to say put your best foot forward there. While it may not be your primary channel, it is a core channel that represents the business side of your brand rather than just the creative side. Be strategic.

The Instagram Factor

As a fairly active Instagram influencer, I feel the most comfortable speaking about that platform. Instagram is the platform that has the most B2C potential and yet is often the most neglected in regards to strategy. 600 million active users are sharing an average of 95 million photos and videos per day. 80% of the users are outside the US with a slightly higher split between female versus male users. Almost 50% of brands are using Instagram with the number expected to rise to 70% this year.

Those stats are fun and great and warm and fuzzy but here are the ones that matter. 50% of Instagram users follow at least one business, 60% say that they learn about a product or service on the platform, and 75% of Instagram users take action, such as visiting a website, after looking at an Instagram advertising post, according to Instagram Advertiser. It doesn’t get better than that.

Seriously.

Look at your other marketing channels and advertising initiatives. Are you able to get those same stats from any other channel/platform/campaign? But whether or not you have better performing platforms is somewhat beside the point, the point here is the opportunity and proven success on Instagram.

So how do you become part of the few brands that are maximizing their efforts in this channel? Be strategic. Have a plan but be willing to adjust. Out of all the main social media platforms, Instagram is evolving the most rapidly, which keeps users engaged, but also means your brand needs to stay vigilant to new features and trends. To assist your Instagram strategy, I have put together a list of what I would consider “Best Practices” at the moment. Since things change, stay tuned for updated articles and changes to the list.

Do:

• Ensure your account is setup as a Business Account
• Have a clean image/logo for your profile photo
• Ensure your brand message is in profile info
• List your website or current campaign/initiative in website field
• Post 5 times a week
• Use a consistent filter/look for your posts
• Maximize your use of relevant hashtags as a tail rather than in the body
• Use social media managing platform to schedule your posts in advance
• Use IG Stories and Live for events/new products/brand ambassadors/BTS
• Select/reward brand ambassadors strategically rather than via platforms
• Use DSLR camera instead of phone when possible
• Learn about basic photography composition/lighting/etc
• Actively monitor and curate comments
• Analyze whether adding a shop-the-feed function can be justified in your budget
• Invest in your social media team

These tips are just tips, and my examples are just examples, it’s up to you to make your brand great. Now is the time to develop your social media strategy and get it lined up before this year’s main holiday and seasonal sales hit.

Do your homework.

Know your customer.

Be strategic.