We all know that a social media presence is an integral part of any marketing plan. Planning your social media strategy in advance to promote events and promotions is crucial to a successful social media marketing campaign. But it can be tough to start as there are some questions that you’ll need to address to make sure that you’re reaching the right audience with the best content. We’ve compiled a list of questions that you should ask yourself when planning your social media marketing strategy.
1. What are you promoting?
Whether you have a new product launch, new location opening or holiday promotion, it’s important to know the content that you’ll be creating for your audience. Brainstorm different types of content that you’ll be creating including video, photography, graphics, etc. It’s also helpful to create a list of content topics that you can refer to when creating your weekly or monthly content calendar. Some examples would be: Client testimonials, photos of staff members, company blog posts, articles from other industry leaders, behind-the-scenes videos of your company, etc.
2. What are your goals?
It is incredibly important to understand your goals when planning a social media campaign. No matter the type of content that you’ll create, it needs to be aligned with the goals of the campaign and brand. Want to boost sales for a new product or promote event attendance? It’s important to be aware of how the path to achieving these goals would be very different. Determine the goals of your brand and create the social media content with those in mind.
3. Who is your target audience?
Many people assume that their target audience is “everyone”, but this is more than likely untrue. Knowing and understanding the demographic of your target audience is vital to a successful social media campaign. It’s important to think about the needs, interests and behavior of your potential customers and then plan your social media strategy accordingly.
4. Are you creating different content for each social network?
Not all social media networks are created equal. Different platforms attract audiences of different ages and interests so content for each network should be slightly different. As you determine your target audience, you’ll also discover the platforms that they frequent and can then determine how and when to post. Unsure of when to post to different networks? Read our blog for more information on that topic!
5. What has performed well before?
Analyzing social media activity is incredibly important, and there’s a reason that so many marketers choose to do it. Analytics help to understand the content and strategies that work or don’t work. Using various tools, you can determine which posts perform best, what time of day you receive the most activity and which social media platforms are best for your brand. Using the date from your analytics will ultimately help you plan your future social media content to be more effective. Most platforms have their own analytic tools and there are also plenty of apps and software out to help make this easier. It’s is very helpful to understand what your brand is doing right so you can continue to create the same type of content in the future.
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