Lots of us use social media in our personal lives whether we choose Meta, Twitter, TikTok or another.
However, it’s a very different game when you use these platforms for professional purposes. You need a clear tone of voice and social media strategy before you even set up a profile.
Even before you get twitchy fingers to set up you want to find out where your audience is. Then watch them to find out what types of updates they are engaging with. This is the most surefire way to grow a following who takes action.
Whilst that sounds simple, it can take time. So, here’s our advice on how to put together the perfect social media strategy before you fire off that first update into the echo chamber.
Most companies and organisations will have a number of target audiences of different ages, genders and backgrounds. This is why audience segmentation is so important. This helps to focus who you are speaking to so your activity can be tailored accordingly. A social media strategy is not a one-size-fits-all policy. For example, LinkedIn has a pretty even gender split with the majority of its users being 25 – 34 years old (approx 58.4%). Whereas, Pinterest’s largest age group is 50 – 64 (38%) of which the average time spent on the platform is 14.2 minutes. So, work out who you are speaking to, find where they congregate and draw up your content with them in mind.
Depending on your target audience, it may be best to use a different tone and style on different platforms. This is more time consuming as you cannot just copy and paste content. But, the results make it worth it. Also, consider what to include in those specific posts. For example, research shows that hashtags don’t work that well on LinkedIn versus Instagram which demands a strong visual presence. Video is universally huge but comes with different requirements for each platform. This can be understandably overwhelming. So, once you know what your audience wants, look at the resources and the time you have at your disposal in order to do it well.
Success may look different depending on what platform it’s on and who is the target audience. For example, Facebook could be about driving traffic to your website and YouTube is more about educating and brand awareness through views. The journey through to conversion is also going to be different depending on who you are talking to. And they may well all compliment each other, resulting in that lead coming in.
Social media does not stand still – changes are being brought in all of the time. The most notorious algorithms are also a battle too. They both move their goalposts on how to get organic content in front of your audiences on a regular basis. Be agile to these changes in your social media strategy to find ways to make these tweaks work to your advantage.
If you have the budget for it, you may want to include some paid-for activity in your social media strategy (read this before you do). The paid-for options across the major platforms can help you to pinpoint the people you want to get in front of to hit specific objectives. This could be particularly helpful if your business is reaching out to a niche or specialist audience. However, remain realistic about results. Google Ads are for people who are looking to buy, social ads are about catching browsers in the right mood to make that purchase or boosting brand awareness. It is also a good way to overcome those pesky Facebook algorithm challenges. So, we recommend using a mixture of organic and paid advertising to make the platform work for you.
Your strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. We recommend using cloud technology and having an easily accessible plan that includes:
It’s clear to see why a social media strategy is an essential part of your marketing toolkit. It should sit well alongside your digital and offline activity to ensure branding, messaging and overall look and feel are aligned. This will ensure a positive experience for your existing and potential customers.
Do you need an agile team to assist with your marketing? From stakeholder comms to newsletters, design assets to online content, there’s certainly a lot to cover. A flexi-extension of your team to ease that burden sounds pretty good right now, doesn’t it?
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