No doubt about it. Social media is part of the marketing mix for any business today. But, managing it and getting results from it can be a challenge.
Did you ever sit down to work on your social media for your business and find yourself down a rabbit hole? We all do it. We get online with all intentions of posting for our business. But instead we check our personal social media, start looking at other posts, watching videos. Before you know it, we’ve spent a chunk of time and haven’t worked on our business social media. We procrastinate when we don’t feel confident about the investment we are putting into it.
Consider the time that this costs you. If you have structure around your social media efforts, you won’t waste your time and resources. Here are some pointers on adding value to your social media.
Start with goals. How do you put a plan in place for social media? Start with setting goals. What are you trying to achieve through social media? Are you trying to
- Build trust/become a thought leader
- Increase awareness
- Drive traffic to your website
- Generate leads
- Increase revenues/online sales
- Improve customer service
Know your audience. Once you have your goals in place, have a deep understanding of your prospects. Knowing who they are isn’t enough. Develop a persona for each type that includes:
- Demographics
- Buying habits
- Buying decision process
- Pain points
- Subject matter that would be of interest to them
- The best way to reach them on social media
Keep tabs on your competition. Know your competition and what they are doing. You can use this information to do the same thing only more or better. Or use it to develop a strategy that is unique and makes you stand out.
Understand what you sell. We all sell products or services but that’s not the real value that we provide to our customers. The real value is the end result for your customers. For example, a financial planner is not just selling investments. They are providing peace of mind, a certain lifestyle, etc. This takes some thought, but it is key in developing your unique value proposition.
Develop content. Once you have identified your goals and have an in-depth understanding of your customers, competition and your offering, you can develop very targeted meaningful content.
Set up a calendar. At this point set up a calendar of what you will be posting and when. Schedule time weekly to set up your posts. Select the social media platforms based on your audience and the best way to reach them and the best times to post.
Measure the impact on your business. Refer back to your goals. Are you creating the awareness or generating the leads you want? Use social media analytics to determine the impact you are having.
Adjust your strategies. See what works and doesn’t work. If you are not getting the results you want, try something else. Are your social media goals aligned with your business goals? If not change them. Does your content align with your audience? Take a hard look at what you are doing and make it better.
Executing social media tactics that have a positive effect on your business can be a challenge. By following this process and tweaking it along the way will help you reach your goals.
If you are challenged putting in place an effective social media plan for your business, Noesis Marketing is here to help.
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