Do you have a love-hate relationship with your social media account? When all goes well, social media can be a launchpad to connect with your customers in personal and genuine ways. When things don’t go so well, social media can be a time-consuming burden that feels like shouting into a blackhole.
If you’ve had these moments and everything else in between, we hear you. Thankfully, there are ways to help maximize your social media for more predictable and consistent results. We promise you’ll find more love and less hate with your business’ social media!
One of the cornerstone steps to a successful social media plan is setting your campaign goals. Without an idea on where you’re heading, there is no guide to help make decisions about content and strategy.
Setting goals can look like many different things. For example, perhaps there is a certain level of followers that you’re trying to reach with your business social media account. Or perhaps you’re trying to increase engagement with your posts and build a conversation around your brand.
Whatever your goals are, make sure there is a way to measure them objectively. In addition, set a realistic timeline for when you think you will hit your targets.
With this clear vision in mind, you’re ready to strategize!
Once the goals of your social media are set, it is time to build the roadmap on how to reach them. Building a content calendar offers so many great benefits. Here are just a few:
First, building a content calendar is a way to know that your content and strategies are all working together to achieve the goals that you set out. It’s easy to become astray when making content on the fly. But when content is planned ahead and taken into consideration as one large campaign, it’s much easier to stay on track.
Second, a content plan helps you stay organized. One of the keys to finding success on social media is to make sure you’re posting content that is attractive to your audience. Posting the same repeat content over and over again or missing out on key types of content can be fatal flaws. With a content calendar, you will stay on top of the look and feel of your content.
Finally, a content calendar is a log of your past content. When it comes time to track and analyze how your strategy is moving forward, having all your social media posts across platforms in one easy-to-read document can be a life saver! At a glance, you will know exactly where you’ve been. And that can help dramatically guide where you want to go.
Once the goals of your social media are set, it is time to build the roadmap on how to reach them. Building a content calendar offers so many great benefits. Here are just a few:
First, building a content calendar is a way to know that your content and strategies are all working together to achieve the goals that you set out. It’s easy to become astray when making content on the fly. But when content is planned ahead and taken into consideration as one large campaign, it’s much easier to stay on track.
Second, a content plan helps you stay organized. One of the keys to finding success on social media is to make sure you’re posting content that is attractive to your audience. Posting the same repeat content over and over again or missing out on key types of content can be fatal flaws. With a content calendar, you will stay on top of the look and feel of your content.
Finally, a content calendar is a log of your past content. When it comes time to track and analyze how your strategy is moving forward, having all your social media posts across platforms in one easy-to-read document can be a life saver! At a glance, you will know exactly where you’ve been. And that can help dramatically guide where you want to go.
With your targets in sight and a powerful content strategy in place, all that’s left to do is track and analyze your progress. One of the sure-things about social media is that the landscape is always changing. Platforms are constantly modifying their algorithms and users are always coming up with new trends. It’s important to continuously track how your content strategy is moving forward through these inevitable changes.
Even the most careful planning can miss the mark at certain points. The only way to know if you’re getting it right is to measure how your social media posts are performing. With some relevant and accurate feedback (using insights or analytics from the app or third-party) you will be able to capitalize on changes in social media or adjust for weakness in your plan.
A general framework for your social media content and strategy is important. But how does this actually apply for different social media platforms?
We suggest using the framework above to get you started. Once the framework is set up, you can narrow into specific platforms. Here is a guide that can help you better understand how each social media platform works. Knowing how people engage with each platform and staying on top of new features and trends is key to finding social media success.
LinkedIn is a professional network. As such, this isn’t the right place to post highly personal updates. If it’s not something that you’d share with a future client or employer, then it probably doesn’t belong on LinkedIn, either.
What does belong on LinkedIn are things like comments on current trends in your industry, educational articles exploring topics relevant to work broadly speaking, or tips or advice that help raise your status as an expert in your field.
Do’s
Don’ts
LinkedIn is a professional network. As such, this isn’t the right place to post highly personal updates. If it’s not something that you’d share with a future client or employer, then it probably doesn’t belong on LinkedIn, either.
What does belong on LinkedIn are things like comments on current trends in your industry, educational articles exploring topics relevant to work broadly speaking, or tips or advice that help raise your status as an expert in your field.
Do’s
Don’ts
TikTok is essentially the polar opposite of LinkedIn. TikTok is a social app that is always on top of the latest content trends. The main demographic tends to be a younger audience who are willing and wanting to engage with your content.
This app is a video-first platform that lets users post edited clips. The types of content can range from educational to just plain funny. Regardless of the nature of the content, all videos must be entertaining and engaging. Unlike a bland article posted on LinkedIn, TikTok users want to see videos that connect emotionally.
Do’s
Don’ts
A staple in social media platforms is Facebook. This is one of the longest-lasting networks and one that’s seen a lot of changes over the years. At this point, Facebook is a fairly stable network and is a reliable way to engage with your audience.
This is a great platform to hold online events or share news about your business. It’s also a great place to market your products and services whether it’s through paid or organic advertising. There are almost countless ways to combine and use features on Facebook to make the platform uniquely serving your brand.
Do’s
Don’ts
A staple in social media platforms is Facebook. This is one of the longest-lasting networks and one that’s seen a lot of changes over the years. At this point, Facebook is a fairly stable network and is a reliable way to engage with your audience.
This is a great platform to hold online events or share news about your business. It’s also a great place to market your products and services whether it’s through paid or organic advertising. There are almost countless ways to combine and use features on Facebook to make the platform uniquely serving your brand.
Do’s
Don’ts
Yet another staple in the social media world, Instagram is perhaps one of the most fluctuating apps in recent years. From a photo-only platform to a video-first network, Instagram is always trying to keep up with the latest trends in social media use.
Instagram might not be as popular today as it once was, but it’s still an important part of your social media campaigning. To use this platform successfully, make sure your content is authentic and self-created. And much like TikTok, content that connects emotionally will perform better than bland posts.
Do’s
Don’ts
A slightly more niche platform that can still offer great results for the right company. YouTube has evolved a lot over the years. Today, this video-sharing platform offers different viewing styles from shorter reel-type video to the longform videos that it’s well known for offering.
This is a great platform to dive deeper into topics or provide useful information and tutorials on your products or services. Building brand loyalty and trust is powerfully achieved by posting videos about your business. In many cases, these videos will either educate new and interested customers or fuel a deeper engagement with existing ones.
Do’s
Don’ts
A slightly more niche platform that can still offer great results for the right company. YouTube has evolved a lot over the years. Today, this video-sharing platform offers different viewing styles from shorter reel-type video to the longform videos that it’s well known for offering.
This is a great platform to dive deeper into topics or provide useful information and tutorials on your products or services. Building brand loyalty and trust is powerfully achieved by posting videos about your business. In many cases, these videos will either educate new and interested customers or fuel a deeper engagement with existing ones.
Do’s
Don’ts
With this guide in hand, you’re ready to get your business’ social media off the ground! Take this starting point and then experiment with different tactics and find what uniquely works for your brand. Some of the best social media marketing campaigns are the ones that take bold risks. Don’t be afraid to put your brand out there in a genuine way!
If your business could use a little help with social media marketing, give us a call and book a consultation! One of the most powerful tactics on social media is consistency and quality. Both of these take time, however. Let us help you and save some precious time by developing your business’ social media.
"*" indicates required fields