How to create a social media marketing strategy

In the era of smartphones, social media marketing is undoubtedly one of the most powerful ways to reach prospects and nurture existing customers. Almost everyone who has access to the Internet looks for products and services on social media. So if your business isn't on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, you're missing out!

However, being on social media is just the tip of the iceberg. You can't expect to yield good business results if you only rely on engagement and interaction. While having many likes and followers is still incredibly important, creating a solid social media marketing strategy will separate you from your competitors.

This guide will tell you what you need to know about social media marketing. You'll learn:

• Some social media basics

• How to create a social media marketing strategy roadmap

• How to monitor and evaluate your social media marketing strategies

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the practice of using social media platforms to connect with prospects and nurture existing customers. If executed well, this form of digital marketing strategy can help businesses:

• Increase brand awareness

• Drive website traffic

• Advertise products and services

• Boost conversion rates

• Build brand authority

• Improve customer satisfaction

• Boost sales

Which social media platforms should your business use?

While it's easy to ride every social media train these days, it doesn't always lead to higher conversion. Depending on your business and your target audience, some social media platforms will fit your brand better than others. Here are some of the most widely used social media platforms:

Facebook

Facebook is the biggest and most established social media platform today. With the highest number of active users, there's a great chance you can find your customer base here. 

There are different ways to advertise your brand on Facebook. These include image, video, poll, carousel, and dynamic ads. You can also utilise Facebook to help you set up your own business page. This platform enables you to create content, communicate with your customers, and post business updates.

TikTok

There's no denying that TikTok has become one of the most invaluable social media platforms for marketing today. With over one billion global users, this platform shows no signs of slowing down. This app is best for short-form video content and is primarily used by Gen Z and Millennials. 

Instagram

Centred around visually compelling content, Instagram allows you to utilise your creativity to the next level. What started as a photo-sharing app, the platform has now become one of the most used tools for B2C marketing. Today, Instagram allows users to discover brands and buy products directly from the platform. This enables businesses to increase their online sales through social media.

Twitter over 329 million active users

While Instagram focuses on images, Twitter is primarily centred around words. Most brands use the app to post news, business updates, and real-time information. 

Twitter also helps brands gain insights about trending topics and discussions. This helps them understand what their existing and potential customers are interested in. Currently, there are over 329 million active users on the platform. 

How to create a social media marketing plan

Starting a social media marketing plan from scratch can be daunting for some. But with proper guidelines in place, it shouldn't feel as intimidating as it seems. Here are some social media marketing tips for small businesses:

1. Set your goals

One of the keys to successful social media marketing is knowing your goals from the get-go. Creating a social media plan will be useless without figuring out what you want to achieve. 

Ask yourself, do you want to boost your brand awareness? Do you want to gain followers and subscribers? Do you want engagement from your customers? Or do you want to generate new potential clients for your business? Whatever you want to achieve, make sure to define your goals before you market your business on social media. 

2. Know your target audience

One social media marketing essential is targeting the right audience. In this way, you'll be able to find out which social media platform they use the most, what content they like to see online, and how they engage with brands on social media. 

To identify their target audience, most brands create a buying persona by considering factors like age, gender, job, behaviour, and lifestyle. These factors will help them identify which platform their target audience spends the most time on. For example, if your target audience is mostly Zoomers and Millennials, you might want to use TikTok or Instagram, as these platforms are used primarily by teenagers and young adults. 

3. Find your voice and tone

One of the easiest ways to separate your business from the rest is to create your own brand voice. A well-developed brand voice allows you to present your business to your target audience in a way that is unique to you. 

Your brand voice also lets you showcase your distinct purpose and personality online. It helps you stand out from your competitors and create consistent and repeatable messages so that your audience knows what your brand is about. 

4. Create quality content

Now that you have established your target audience and brand voice, it's time to create quality content. To yield good engagements on social media, make sure to produce content that piques the interest of your audience. Do they prefer short-form content or long videos and posts? By creating content that your audience loves, you'll boost engagement and attract potential customers to your business. 

5. Plan your posting schedule

One of the best social media marketing tips is to create a posting schedule. To reach a broader audience, you need to identify the right time to post your content. This again boils down to your target audience. Try to find out what time they usually go online so that you can also post your content while they're active on their social media platforms. 

6. Form a social media marketing partnership

Social media isn't just about creating relationships with your clients. It's also about partnering with other brands that have the same goals and vision as you. By strengthening social media marketing partnerships, you can discover new tactics to incorporate into your strategy and attract more followers and subscribers to your channels. 

7. Evaluate your social media performance

The only way you can improve your social media marketing plan is to assess your performance constantly. By evaluating your strengths and areas of improvement, you are enabling yourself to repeat your wins and avoid those that don't bring positive outcomes. 

To do this, identify posts that perform well and those that don't get much traffic and engagement. From there, make adjustments to your social media approach so that you don't repeat the same mistakes. Some digital marketing apps, like Google Analytics and Facebook Analytics, also offer thorough insights into your performance during a specific time frame.

How to monitor and evaluate your social media strategy

Know your core objectives

It will be challenging to gauge the effectiveness of your own social media strategy without knowing your desired outcomes. By establishing your social media objectives, you create benchmarks that can help you measure and monitor your performance on your social media channels. 

Track brand mentions

One crucial social media tip is to track all posts that mention your brand, even without the @ symbol or a hashtag. While seeing users mention your brand is exciting, it doesn't necessarily mean you're making waves online. It could mean a lot of things, including potential crises. Tracking these mentions gives you a clearer view of your brand's social media positioning. 

Conduct a competitor analysis

Conducting a competitor analysis is just as important as monitoring your own social media performance. By doing so, you gain insights about your competitors, such as their marketing tactics, customer feedback, and product ideas. You can hone your social media strategy based on the information you've gathered from your analysis. 

Use social media monitoring tools

As mentioned, plenty of tools can help you monitor and evaluate the performance of your social media channels. While some cost a good amount of money, the insights they can give you are worth every penny. When selecting a social media monitoring tool, here are some of the features you need to consider: 

• Audience segmentation

• Competitor research

• Backlink analysis

• Customer engagement

• Sentiment analysis

• Trend tracking

Maximise social media for business growth

Now that you know which steps to follow in creating a solid social media strategy, it's time to leverage your social media channels to drive sales and yield high engagement. As social media constantly evolves, you must be at the top of your game to make your brand stand out. If you need more guidance, hire a social media marketer on Airtasker. By simply posting a task, you can take your business to the next level.