With the pressure of committing to Social Media as a definitive marketing channel, comes too the pressure of creating a logical and achievable Social Strategy. This will be your first step in entering into the world of social, and it’s a vital step.
Before you move into creating a document, there are some important things to consider. In today’s blog post – we’ve outlined these for you in order to help you better understand the requirements of a successful Social Media Strategy.
Culture
You need to analyse and understand the culture of your target audience. Define the age demographic, their interests and their locations. If you identify the culture of your customer segment (or segments), you will then have the power to analyse the fears, concerns and hopes of these customer segments – better enabling you to tap into this audience.
Find the platform
Based on the understanding of your customers’ cultural identity, you can determine the places where they ‘hang out’ and are willing to engage in meaningful ways.
Just because a social media platform like Facebook is king, does not necessarily mean it is the right platform for your customer group or all of/most of your content. For example, if you are trying to connect with the younger demographic – SnapChat is most certainly a channel you should consider.
Here’s why:
• Globally, around 400 million snaps are now sent via the app each day
• Estimates suggest 90% of Snapchat’s audience is aged 13-17
• 100 million monthly active users
Doing the research, understanding your platform audience and the content requirements are all a huge part of the strategy phase and should not be overlooked. Don’t make Facebook your entire goal – think about other big current social platforms like;
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube
• SnapChat
Your Content
Creating even a draft of a content calendar for your social efforts will be necessary in your strategy. This will help you get organised and understand the requirements both in terms of time and budget for your content. A social media calendar cuts down on time, and helps you allocate your resources wisely. A content calendar will help ensure your brand consistently publishes high-quality, well-written, high-performing content pieces. What content should you be posting? Well, engagement is key. Don’t just focus on high quality images alongside text – there’s video, competitions and even memes for your brand to consider.
Your ticklist
Although not exhaustive, the below tick list outlines things you need to consider and answer for your Social Strategy.
A Social Strategy is the first step into the Social Media world and its importance should not be overlooked. If you feel overwhelmed, don’t worry – it’s a lot to take in and you should dedicate time, effort and research. If you feel that creating a Social Strategy takes more time and effort than you have, contact us for some help and advice. We can sit down and discuss your requirements and get wheels in motion, ensuring your Social Strategy will help reach the right people with the right message.