Brands that ignore social media…..will die. It’s that simple – Jeff Ragovin (Buddy Media Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer)
Social media is the modern masterpiece of marketing. Brands are revitalizing the way social media can be used in modern day. However, as beneficial as it seems, there are many brands and startups struggling to use this gem. ⭐⭐
The burning question is “How”. How are you going to reap all the benefits that social media offers? For that you need a marketing strategy. Without any strategy, you are gambling. Obvious, right? But how will you create one? Well, the answer to your question lies in these seven steps.
So what are we waiting for? Let me present you with the seven steps to create an effective social media marketing plan. 🙂🙂
Audit your current presence
Any fool can know. The point is to understand - Albert Einstein
Let’s assume that you are in a jungle. To navigate yourself out of the jungle, you have a map with you. Now, would be able to really get out without knowing where you are? Not really, right? 🤔🤔
This is exactly the same case for coming up with a social media marketing strategy. You need to analyze your current position. What networks are you currently active on, how effective are they, which one is bringing the most value, and how much resources do you have.
In short, in order to go where you want to, you need to take a look at where you are.
Know your audience
Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves – Steve Jobs
Your marketing strategy should always target the needs of the customers. And to understand the needs of your clients, you need to know them better than anyone. Each and every small detail is helpful. ✌️✌️
Know their age, location, what do they do, their income, their problems, solutions, and their perception. For example – for tech entrepreneurs, it is vital to understand that if his/her customers are laggards or early adopters. By knowing this, it becomes very easy for a tech entrepreneur to design the marketing strategy.
If you want to learn about how to know your customers, then read this post about Knowing Your target Audience.
Choose your social networks
After knowing your audience, you have to choose which social media platforms you want to maintain your presence on.
Decide where your customers hang out the most. Which platforms do they trust? How much time does each platform need? Which platform is comfortable for your target audience? Which one has the favourable demographics? I would advise you to carefully analyse the advantages and disadvantages of each social media tool and then match it with your customers’ needs. ✅✅
Remember, you don’t have to be on all of them – just the ones that matter to you and your audience.
Read this blog to know about the social media platforms that get the most engagement.
Find your marketing voice and tone
This is where you define your mission statement. For a successful marketing plan, you need to elucidate your goals behind your marketing efforts. This should reflect your brand identity. 🤴🤴
Still confused about it? Let me make it clear. Think of your brand as a person. What kind of personality would he/she have? What kind of relationship would he/she have with the customers? Describe some adjectives for him/her. By doing this exercise, you will develop a brand image for your company. Based on this, develop your mission statement.
Creating a mission statement is important. It tells your customers what they can expect from you. You have to post content based on your mission statement. Just by looking at your social media, customers would get an idea of your brand. 💪💪
In long run, it would become your voice. You need to cultivate a voice that delights your customers.
Using tech influencers to promote your brand is an effective way to market your products on social media. Read this blog to know Top 10 Tech Influencers In The London Tech Community.
Identify success metrics
If it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed – Peter Drucker
Let’s say you have created a wonderful marketing strategy. But wait. How are you going to know that? Yes, that’s right. You have to pre-define some success metrics. Now, this is where it gets difficult. Measuring your success can be a headache. 😨😨
Some metrics to consider measuring are: engagement, conversion rate, time spent on website, likes, shares, feedback, and brand mentions. Pre-defining some success metrics is important to measure your efforts.
Pick your posting strategy
This is the most important part of your content marketing strategy. If you get this single step right, you will have gotten 50% of your strategy right. Therefore, read carefully. 👀👀
Answer this question. What should you be posting? Videos, short videos, images, links, quotes, or a mix of all? Decide it according to your resources and your audiences’ needs. This is vital because different platforms receive different level engagements for distinct posts.
Then, consider how often you’d be posting. It is vital to post the right content, in the right platform, at the right time. When, why, where, what, and how – all these questions must be considered. Timing is everything! ✨✨
Why not visit this blog to know about the ways to leverage the power of social media.
Track, Analyze, Optimize
Congratulations! By this point, you have completed 90% of your marketing strategy. What's left is analyzing your efforts. See how superior your strategy was. Was it successful or not? If yes, then see what made your strategy superior. If not, then look at what improvements are needed. This is more of a reflecting task. ✍️✍️
Measuring your efforts is important. Without it, you are like a businessman who is running his business, but doesn’t know how much he earns. It’s like you’re driving a car but don’t know how far you’ve come. If you analyze your strategy, you will find your strengths and your weaknesses. 🏆🏆
Coming up with a strong and powerful social media marketing strategy can be far-reaching.
To successfully manage your social media marketing, a media management tool is highly recommended.
Read this blog to learn Top 5 Media Monitoring Tools For Tech Entrepreneurs.
Would you like to learn how to create content to share on your social media as well as with journalists so you become more visible, more credible and more influential?
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About the Author
Siddharth is a Business Management student at London South Bank University. He is an avid reader and a content writer on various business aspects. Studying in London and raised in Gujarat, India, he speaks 3 different languages. He holds interests in sports, fitness, army and defense services, philosophy, business operations, marketing, and is passionate about becoming an entrepreneur. He is a writer and contributor for High Profile Club. Find Siddharth on LinkedIn here.
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