You know how powerful social media is in your personal life. Imagine the impact it can have on your business. Social media gives you the ability to elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. But getting started without any previous experience or insight could be challenging. While you can invest the time and resources yourself, It is better to engage with a company that knows the ins and outs of social media marketing—they have the tools and experience that you need when crafting a strategy for your budding business.
The first step is to choose the right platform. You might think it is best to jump on whatever platform is being talked about the most. But maximizing your return relies on choosing those platforms and practices that suit your core business. Based on your product or service, it may not make sense to have to update your Twitter account every hour. Determine what works for your company, keeping in mind the goal is to increase reach and visibility. You can see these results by utilizing reports which show key performance indicators.
Next you want to set goals for the various platforms as it relates to your company. In general, you will want to:
- Increase referral traffic to the website
- Drive lead generation or purchases
- Increase company credibility
- Demonstrate an identity and culture that makes people want to work with you
- Increase the quantity of feedback received from customers and leads
Then you will need to plan your content. And by planning, this is both for the actual message being sent as well as the details of when and how often. The goal is to maintain organization and consistency when sharing across your various social channels. You want to engage your target audience at the times of highest potential reach across all channels. Ideally, you should plan for a month or at least a week ahead. It is also important to present engaging content on social media. If you are only posting messages such as, “Check out our latest deals,” people will quickly tune out. Submit posts that are applicable to your product or service and that are interesting. The best content encourages people to interact with your brand.
