HOW TO BUILD YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY: A BEGINNER’S GUIDE
AUTHOR: ALEX BIRCH.
Social media marketing strategies are obviously a key part of any well-rounded new digital marketing strategy.
There are numerous digital channels to explore when thinking about taking products or services to market.
Everything from:
- Paid and earned media
- Social
- TVC
- Online video
- Website
- SEO / PPC
- Partnerships
- Sponsorships
- Other
What should tie this all together is a consistent brand proposition. What are your clients looking for, what is their common problem, and how do you help them solve it?
What social channels should a brand consider?
Each channel has a defined audience that expects a certain type of content.
- YouTube
- Snapchat
- TikTok
How many times should you post?
The general rule of thumb – at least 3x a week to keep front of mind. This varies by channel. Remember, not all your audience will see all your posts, so it’s ok to keep talking to them.
Use your content wisely. If someone in your team writes a blog/ article, why not record them talking about it and post it on YouTube?
A clear social media plan
Write down your content themes for each channel.
Look at the channels that your audience is active in. Think about what sort of content will be relevant for that channel.
Don’t make your content sales-driven. Try to add value to the customer experience.
What are you trying to say, and how are we going to share it?
This can be done through themed and topical content, sharing of others’ content, or thought leadership via written articles of your own.
Posts you do share from others should always have your opinion as part of your post *try not to just copy and paste the URL.
Digital marketing content will be key
Populate your content plan early, so you are clear on what you will be talking about at the start of each week/month/quarter/year.
Use a simple content calendar and populate it with titles and subjects that you intend to share/talk about.
Keep the question front of mind ‘is this content adding value to my audience’?
Tracking and reporting (ROI)/adapting
How can ROI be tracked across all these digital channels?
Well, the beautiful thing about digital marketing is it can all be tracked and analyzed.
- reach
- engagement
- audience
- location
- age
- sex
- status
Understand and grow your audience
Define who your audience is. Bullet point what you think defines your audience. This will help you begin to shape your social media strategy.
It is well known in the industry that transparency and authenticity always resonate more with audiences. (people don’t want to be spoken down to or lectured by any brand).
Refine your own proposition
In developing your content, you should know the problems of people in their lives and use your content to bring solutions to their issues. You must deliver your content in the right channels, in the appropriate formats, and at the correct time to achieve the best results.
See this article on Top Business Reasons for Content Marketing and How to Measure its ROI from Jock Breitwieser.
Author: Alex Birch / Founder Polar London.
