Social media has become an essential part of the marketing strategy of every business, no matter how big or small.
However, many people think it’s an easy way to attract more clients and generate leads. Well, it only seems easy – posting pictures and articles on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to have a successful social media marketing strategy.
Even so, that shouldn’t scare you. With our simple guide, you’ll be able to create a social media strategy that suits the particular needs of your business and maintain it with ease.
Why you need a strategy for your social media posts?
Posting on social media platforms can be wasting your time and energy if you don’t do it right. You may be spending a lot of time online, however, you don’t necessarily attract more people to your profile.
That’s why a good social media strategy can help you find your target audience and dedicate your posts to people who will actually be interested in your business.
Figure 1: Social media marketing has become very important for both small and big businesses, so be sure to do everything you can to have a successful social media marketing strategy
How to have a successful social media marketing strategy?
Social media marketing is one of the best marketing practices for a small business. Therefore, be sure to use all of its advantages and create a social media plan that will help you reach your goals.
Here are some of the best tips on how to have a successful social media marketing strategy that will bring you nothing but victory.
1. Know what you really want
No strategy can be successful if you don’t have a goal to strive to. Before you do anything about your social media profiles, ask yourself why you are doing this.
It can be more website traffic, higher revenue, generating more qualified leads, etc. Whatever you choose to have as your business goal, make sure to dedicate everything you do to that very purpose.
2. Be consistent
One of the best ways to be successful online is to be consistent. Don’t let people forget about you and always give them something to see and read. The reason why this is important is that there’s no way to reach your goals in one day.
You need to provide quality for a longer period of time so it starts to give you good long-term traffic. So, be sure to give your strategy some time – from six months to one year, at least.
4. Be realistic about your audience
Running a successful social media profile means providing content that your followers/clients like to see. Therefore, in order to do it, you need to be aware of your target audience.
Be realistic about it and make sure to figure out your clients precisely. Consider gender, age, location, education, income, etc. Another thing that is essential to your social media marketing plan is the content your target audience needs.
Be sure to identify your audience’s problems and the solutions you can provide. This way, you’ll be able to provide exactly what they need.
Figure 2 Be sure to know your audience and adapt your social media marketing strategy to their needs
5. Not every social media platform is good
Every social media platform attracts a certain kind of audience. Therefore, after you get to know your target audience, be sure to find out what the platforms they like and use are.
This way, you’ll be able to reach them without any trouble. Use one or two main platforms that your audience uses the most.
As you can see, having a successful social media marketing strategy is not about doing everything possible on social media – but using it in the right way. Using helpful internet marketing tools to make your social media game even better is another way to help your business on social media.
6. Be aware of your competition
Having a competition and checking up on them is a healthy way of running a business. Being aware of your environment makes you ready to adapt your game to the current trends and have a successful social media marketing strategy.
Stay informed about your competition and make sure to follow any changes that happen in the business.
7. Time is important
Along with the right content, the time you will be posting it is also very important. Again, you’ll need to know your audience’s needs and online behaviour.
The best time to post is different for young people, moms, sports fans, etc. Even though there are some common times and days that are advised when publishing posts, be sure to analyze your audience and choose the best time according to them.
Figure 3 Knowing your target audience’s needs will help you have a successful social media marketing strategy
8. Be open-minded about your social media marketing strategy
If you want to have a successful social media marketing strategy, you need to follow the trends and adapt the strategy to new ‘conditions’. Sticking to your old rules too strictly won’t bring you any success since the internet is changing every day.
That’s why revisiting your social media strategy is essential for having fresh, interesting content all the time. However, be sure to have some ground ‘rules’ you will follow. Changing your strategy very often is not very good either. Remember, consistency is key.
9. Try to maintain a ‘theme’
Popular social media networks have made visual themes to use for your content quite important. However, maintaining the desired theme is not always that easy, since not every post is the same.
But you can try creating some kind of a style for your posts and profile, which will make your social media image more professional. This is especially important if you are using Instagram, where using similarly themed posts, a unique colour palette and picture style is clearly visible.
This way, people who don’t follow you and represent potential clients will get interested in your services/products because of your neat looking profile.
