A social media strategy is just one part of an overall marketing strategy. But an important one! Social media usage makes up one quarter of an 8-hour workday – 2 hours and 6 minutes daily. So, how do you break through the noise so that your brand stands a chance of harnessing a few of those minutes of dedicated use? 

Develop a social media strategy. Easy, right? 

What are the best uses for social media? 

Social media is all about engagement. It’s very quickly becoming the way we communicate with each other. Sites like Facebook and Instagram let you stay in touch with people you knew in grade school – even if you haven’t seen each other in 30 years. 

When you start to think about how to use social media for business, think engagement. Engagement allows you to: 

• Build community and relationships with your customers. 
• Create brand awareness for your company. 
• Increase traffic to your website or landing page.

Social media is an excellent way to show your softer side – the human behind the company. People will always choose to do business with people that know, like, and trust. You can use social media to showcase your brand as well as highlight your company values and any philanthropic efforts you support. 

Develop a social strategy. 

Your social strategy begins by meticulously defining your ideal customer avatar. If your brand sells high-end, handcrafted vases, begin by finding out who is buying your vases. You want to know their age, income, education level, where they live, and what other products they buy. In this example, you might find that your customers are college-educated women between 45 and 55 living along the coasts (east and west) with a disposable income. 

Once you know who your ideal customer is, you can begin to develop your social strategy. 

Research which social platforms your ideal customer is using based on demographics. This identifies the social platforms you’ll use to market your business. I recommend no more than two. You are much better off mastering two platforms than dabbling in five or more. 

Next, you’ll want to research your competitors. Find out what they’re doing on social. Figure out what is working and what is not working. Emulate what’s working with your own twist. Remember, you’re building your know, like, and trust factor. 

How to launch a social media strategy. 

Remember what I said earlier? Social media is about engagement. You want to reach your customers and engage with them. Engagement is more than liking someone’s post or adding a quick emoji. Engagement is about crafting responses and messages that speak to your target audience. 

Here are three strategies that should be incorporated into your social marketing plan. 

1. Join groups and engage, don’t sell. Find out what groups your ideal customers belong to and join those. Respond to questions or add value to the conversation. Don’t pitch; just engage. Your social handle or username will show next to your comments. If you add value, people will look you up. We’re curious beings! 

• Use hashtags. Hashtags (#hashtag) organize topics. Go back to your competitors to find out what hashtags they’re using. Search hashtags within the social platforms you’re using. Which ones resonate with your target audience? Use hashtags to drive traffic to your posts, website, or landing page. 

• Consistency. This wins the game – just like the tortoise and the hare. Set up a posting calendar that works. And do not stray. Use social media management tools, like HootSuite and SocialPilot to automate your social media postings. These tools also offer valuable analytics. Consistency must be applied week after week and month after month. It takes time.

Social media marketing is just a small part of your marketing strategy.

Social media marketing is but a tiny part of your overall marketing strategy. One of the best features of adding social media to your marketing strategy is reach. Every post has the ability to be shared by your fans. This exponentially expands your reach. Social media also allows you to engage in real time with your customers where you can lean invaluable information about what they want and need. 

With everything there is a learning curve. Be patient but inquisitive. Make small tweaks and see what happens. Try different approaches over a period of a few days to a week to notice changes. Pay close attention to analytics. Social is fickle but tamable.

Still don’t know the difference between digital and social media marketing? Check it out here. I believe in you – you got this.