A social media strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you\u2019re succeeding or failing.<\/p>\n

The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don\u2019t make it so lofty and broad that it\u2019s unattainable or impossible to measure.<\/p>\n

What is social media marketing?<\/span><\/h4>\n

Social media marketing is the practice of using social media channels to sell or promote a brand, product or service.<\/p>\n

Social media marketing helps businesses:<\/p>\n

\n
• Increase brand awareness<\/li>\n
• Build engaged communities<\/li>\n
• Sell products and services\u00a0using native social commerce solutions<\/li>\n
• Measure brand sentiment through\u00a0social listening<\/li>\n
• Provide\u00a0customer service on social media platforms<\/li>\n
• Advertise their products and services to target audiences<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  What is a social media strategy?<\/span><\/h2>\n

  A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.<\/p>\n

  Your social media marketing strategy should also list all of your existing and planned social media accounts along with goals specific to each platform you\u2019re active on.<\/p>\n

  Finally, a good social media plan should define the roles and responsibilities within your team and outline your reporting cadence.<\/p>\n

  How to create a social media marketing strategy<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

  Step 1. Choose social media marketing goals that align to business objectives<\/b><\/h3>\n

  Set S.M.A.R.T. goals<\/b><\/h4>\n

  The first step to creating a winning strategy is to establish your objectives and goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure success and\u00a0return on investment (ROI).<\/p>\n

  Each of your goals should be:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Specific<\/li>\n
  • Measurable<\/li>\n
  • Attainable<\/li>\n
  • Relevant<\/li>\n
  • Time-bound<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    This is the\u00a0S.M.A.R.T. goal framework. It will guide your actions and ensure they lead to real business results.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s an example of a S.M.A.R.T. goal:<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe will use Twitter for customer support and lower our average response rate to under two hours by the end of the quarter.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Track meaningful metrics<\/b><\/h4>\n

    Vanity metrics like number of followers and likes are easy to track, but it\u2019s hard to prove their real value. Instead, focus on things like engagement, click-through, and conversion rates.<\/p>\n

    You may want to track different goals for different networks, or even different uses for each network.<\/p>\n

    For example, if you use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, you would measure click-throughs. If Instagram is for brand awareness, you might track the number of Instagram Story views. And if you advertise on Facebook, cost-per-click (CPC) is a common success metric.<\/p>\n

    Social media goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work and secure buy-in from your boss.<\/p>\n

    

    Start developing your social media marketing plan by writing down at least three goals for social media.<\/p>\n

    Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience<\/b><\/h3>\n

    Create audience personas<\/b><\/h4>\n

    Knowing who your audience is and what they want to see on social media is key. That way you can create content that they will like, comment on, and share. It\u2019s also critical if you want to turn social media followers into customers for your business.<\/p>\n

    When it comes to your target customer, you should know things like:<\/p>\n

    \n
    • Age<\/li>\n
    • Location<\/li>\n
    • average income<\/li>\n
    • Typical job title or industry<\/li>\n
    • Interests<\/li>\n
    • etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Get to know your fans, followers, and customers as real people with real wants and needs, and you will know how to target and engage them on social media.<\/p>\n

      Gather data<\/b><\/h4>\n

      Don\u2019t make assumptions. Think Facebook is a better network for reaching Baby Boomers than Millennials? Well, the numbers show that Millennials still outnumber Boomers on the platform.<\/p>\n

      \n