Social media strategy… It is Have you still not defined your social media strategy for this year? Don’t worry. There is no need to bother you. We asked buyfbcomments’s social media marketing team for some quick tips on how to create a killer social media strategy, even if you started a little late. We guarantee that this guide will show you how to quickly create a solid social media strategy for the coming year buy facebook comments.
- Start by setting your goals
Before we get lost in the idea of creating a comprehensive social media strategy, take a step back and set your business goals for this year.
First of all, the basis of your social media strategy depends on your goals and objectives. What are the most important parameters for your company? What return on investment (RSI) do you expect to have?
Your goals might be the same as last year, but chances are they’ve changed at least a little due to the changing nature of social media (and your business).
If you’re stuck with starting to set goals, try the SMART framework to set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
- Use data from last year to inform this year’s strategy
Dive into last year’s analysis and find out what worked and what failed. Look at the success (or failure) of the social media campaigns you created, the activity and engagement across all your platforms, as well as what type of content resonated most with your audience.
You can do this by conducting a social media audit . An audit keeps you informed of your social presence to see what is working and what is not.
Based on the previous year’s data reports, you may want to change the time of day of your post, in order to reach your target audience more and get more engagement. Or, you may want to focus on Facebook more than Instagram due to a more consistent ROI on one platform versus the other.
The point is to let last year’s data give you better guidance for the new year. For a comprehensive overview of metrics for all your social networks in one place visit buyfbcomments Analytics.
Examples of the type of data you can search for:
The days and times you get the most interaction
buyfbcomments’s social media marketing team is always looking for the best times to post based on when you receive the most engagement: “as a brand, we have a lot of content to share and we want to reach our audience when they’re online.” says Amanda Wood, social media marketing specialist at buyfbcomments.
Based on the data they see in their analytics reports, the team adjusts their publishing times accordingly.
In this example, this process never stops, as various factors can affect interaction at any time, holidays, big events, and other external influences on your online demographic behavior.
The type of content or campaigns that worked best
Disappearing live video (think Facebook Live and Snapchat ) made a big splash in 2016 and was something that was tested at buyfbcomments all year. In December we launched our first Facebook Live video in the form of a holiday campaign. The effort was worth it and our social media marketing team learned that we can apply this quick, fairly cheap, DIY content creation in the future.
Audience demographics
Track across your social media channels to know who is following you and engaging with your content. Are these the people you are targeting?
If not, it might be time to change the content you post, or shift focus from one platform to another. You want to market to your target audience at all times.
While it’s important to talk to everyone who interacts with you on social media, when it comes to meeting business goals, it’s crucial that you’re tailoring your social media efforts to the right audience of people .
Tip: Never stop looking at the data and adjusting your strategy as necessary. Track reporting, testing and analysis of new types of content and tactics, determine what works and what doesn’t.
- Consider current trends and how you can integrate them into your plan
Social media changes quickly so it makes sense that you would like to incorporate or at least consider most of the current trends in the industry.
As stated by buyfbcomments CEO Ryan Holmes, the top five social media trends for 2017 are:
Paid social networks
Ambassador Employee
Training for social networks
CEOs in social networks
Sales on social networks
Of course, not all of them will be the objectives of your company or brand. For example, social selling works well in the financial industry where advisors need to build long-term relationships with clients. But it may not work very well in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, which doesn’t rely as much on relationships between prospects and sales professionals.
Researching recent and upcoming trends evaluates them against your company’s goals to determine if any of them are a good fit for your brand strategy.
- Look for inspiration in unconventional places
We’ve already said it: a big part of social media marketing is keeping moving forward and coming up with new ideas to keep your channels fresh. A good way to get creativity flowing is to look to others as a source of inspiration.
Take note of thought leaders and industry giants but also make an effort to look outside of these realms.
buyfbcomments’s social media team is watching some retailers for innovation. Retailers typically have a large budget for social media and creative purposes, giving them the opportunity to try new things and push boundaries.
These brands also have a tangible product that they can showcase on their social channels. Brands like Everlane and Urban Outfitters are among our favorites.
- Don’t overload yourself
Social media is constantly moving and changing, which means your social media plan will be the same. Don’t overload yourself by thinking about the entire year at once. You can tackle different pieces of your plan and optimize your strategy as you go.
Set your business goals in January, but keep in mind that you can change your strategy as necessary to continue working toward them. Social media moves at the speed of light and you will need to stay alert.