How To Own Your Social Media Strategy
The fastest way to achieving your goals is to know them, inside and out. When we practice visualizing our success, we open the portal to its manifestation. Social media can be an effective way of visualizing the process of achieving your business goals. In this blog, we discuss the six elements of social media marketing -- breaking down what it takes to have a social media presence, maintain it, and optimize it. If you’re looking for a quick framework to understand the commitment that social media marketing efforts require, read on.
First we’ll start with the obvious: the creation of any post.
Then we’ll move into the maintenance side of things.
Finally, we’ll examine KPI’s to pay attention to.
Step 1: Ideation.
Define a reason for posting
Figure out how that post can leverage your business
Consider every potential angle of your post (another post on this later)
Ideation is simultaneously the easiest and hardest part about SMM. It’s easy enough to think of something that’s more or less worth sharing. The harder part is doing it in a way that supports your overall brand and business goals. To ensure that your content creation efforts move the needle, we have to have a good reason for posting -- one that aligns with some larger effort. Say you’re rolling out a new package. Even if you haven’t nailed down the details on that package, you can still include your audience in the process. As you consider your content for the upcoming weeks, think about how you can prime your audience for the eventual promotion. This is important not only for your consumers, but also for the business itself. It keeps us accountable to our ideas.
Equally important in this stage is to figure out the dimensions of your post. Where will it land in the ether of the internet? Will it guide the reader to another place? Will it inspire some kind of action from the reader? How will this post tie back to your website, blog, other platforms? Think about the life and trajectory of each post to ensure you and your readers are getting the most out of it.
Step 2: Copy
Copy has to mean something
How does it fit into the rest of your content calendar and overarching business goals
Is it effective? On-brand, concise, clever
Not everyone is a writer. But everyone communicates. Writing is the same in that, when we’re trying to communicate something important, we can restate the same message in a variety of ways until it lands with the receiving party. When we talk just to talk, its easy to dismiss. Social media posts do not want to be dismissed. If your audience dismisses too many posts, it dilutes your brand and is a waste of your valuable energy. So when we think about writing post copy, make sure you have a point that has the potential to land with your receiving party. Try all angles of it! Each version of what you’re trying to say can be a different post, too. No wasted effort here.
Also, think about how the copy fits in with the rest of your content calendar. It should be of a similar tone and reach for a similar objective that supports your goals. If the goal is to get 20 newsletter subscribers, give people plenty of reasons to subscribe. Drum up interest, promote the benefits, make it appetizing, make it fun. There are endless ways to communicate the same message, just make sure there’s a justifiable message.
On the more technical side of things, copy should be three things: On brand, concise, and clever. There are no standards for length, no expectations of prose. What’s important to your audience is that they can follow your story and understand it quickly. Don’t overthink this though. Here’s an article from one of my favorite marketers, Neil Pattel, with some quick tips for writing catchy copy. https://neilpatel.com/blog/write-copy-like-apple/
Step 3: Imagery
This step can come before or after step 2
Depends on the platform
It just has to be worth stopping to look at
Which came first? The photo or the caption? There’s no correct order and often times, content creators will switch back and forth between finding an image that corresponds with existing copy and writing copy to go along with a specific image.
One thing to keep in mind though, if you’re working with a variety of platforms, is to understand which type of imagery works best for Instagram versus Twitter v Facebook, etc. All you have to do to figure that out is look at the platforms. Twitter is more about clever copy than beautiful imagery. Instagram on the other hand is modeled on captivating imagery. Facebook and LinkedIn focus more on copy so images just have to correspond to the subject matter.
Things to avoid include cheesy stock photography, sloppy graphics, overcrowded images, and text overlays that don’t employ immediately recognizable phrases (learned this one the hard way.)
The best performing images are ones that are relatable. These tend to involve a direct focal point such as faces or animals, or some kind of scenic feature.
Also there are so many different kinds of “images” like static, motion graphics, vidoes, carousels, etc. Use them all interchangeably in order to keep your algorithm active.
Step 4: Publishing
Tailoring per platform
Tying into new and existing funnels
Consistent, relevant
Along with the varying copy limits and media dimensions, different platforms also have different post objectives. On Instagram, photos are meant to be “liked”. On Facebook, posts are meant to start a conversation. On Twitter, thoughts are meant to be retweeted. Make sure your post is tailored to account for these differences. Don’t forget to incorporate a link or encourage interaction so that you can measure interest beyond “likes” and comments. As far as consistency goes, people like predictable things. Post what is relevant to your brand and the world and create an expectation for your audience of how they will interact with the business.
Step 5: Engagement
Monitor the reactions
Reply to comments & DMs
Get to know your audience
No one is going to believe your brand is real if you don’t interact with your viewers. Also, you don’t want to let people down by not replying to their inquiries or acknowledging their support. Get to know your biggest fans, watch other people’s stories, and interact with similar brands. Whatever you do, don’t post and ghost.
Step 6: Analyze
KPIs
Sorting through the noise
Make adjustments
Pay attention to the metrics provided by platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They are there for a reason and they give a consistent picture of how your accounts perform. If you can’t make sense of the native statistics, use a third-party publisher like Sprout or Loomly to get a full picture of how your posts perform across platforms. If you spot a positive trend, lean into it. Likewise, if you spot a negative trend, compensate for it in your upcoming posts.
These are the components of social media marketing. This is what it takes to maintain a social media presence that supports your business and it's exactly enough to set you on a path of manifesting your goals. Use your social media presence to keep the vision burning bright at the forefront of your mind. Like a vision board for your business, a strong and consistent social media presence can be the only thing you need to maintain your momentum. If you’re struggling with the ideation phase of this process, refer to this blog or book a call to see how we can help.
