08 Jul 10 tips to elevate your social media marketing

Social media networks are growing year on year, so developing an effective social media strategy is vital.

Here’s our 10 tips to ensure you don’t miss any opportunities –

1. Define your goals and objectives

ou can use the tried and tested SMART method if you like, but what we find most effective is to really get to the nitty gritty of why you’re representing your business on socials. Is it to sell more product? Drive leads? Raise awareness? These goals and objectives will be the driving force behind your marketing strategy, so it’s important to define them now.

2. Learn about your target audience

Your target audience will help you figure out everything, right from the social media platforms you need to be on to every ounce of content you’ll ever create. It is essential to define their questions, concerns, and problems. Flesh them out as living, breathing human beings – give them a name if you want to! Understand everything about them including their interests, favourite brands, life events and more. We have a great cheat-sheet to help you build your ideal target persona right here!

3. Choose your social media platforms wisely

It is not necessary to be every social media platform, what matters is to create an impact on the platforms that you are on. Quality over quantity! Research into where your target audience hang out online, both professionally and personally and use those as your primary channels. Check out our handy check list to help you define your primary channels right here!

4. Plan for social media marketing

Several research reports suggest that marketers who document their strategy are 538% more likely to succeed, which calls for some real time action! Consider national awareness days and events relevant to your business, prepare relevant hashtags for your chosen platforms, and create a content theme for a unified experience.

5. Set up a social media calendar

Make use of social media content planners to organise and publish all your content timely and efficiently.

6. Use the art of storytelling to humanise your brand

It’s the stories that sell, not the product! We, humans, connect to stories. It is the emotional attachment that a brand builds with its audience. Stories inspire ideas and encourage interaction. Show your audience what goes in your office, introduce them to your employees, and show the people behind your brand. Remember that brand stories are not ads or sales pitches. They help the audience connect to your brand.

7. Optimise your post frequency

Every audience uses various social networks at different times of the day. It is important to publish high-quality content and find the ideal posting frequency and time of day for integrating a successful marketing strategy.

8. Treat each social platform uniquely

If you want to succeed in social media, you should treat each social media platform uniquely and consider its functionalities and features. If you want to grow a loyal fanbase, use a creative strategy for each social channel.Take into consideration your follower demographics and share content that appeals most to them.

9. Share quality visual content

Studies show that we remember only 20% of what we read and 80% of what we see. People are more likely to share visual content on social networks. They find visuals attractive as they offer more value and assist in generating more traffic, increasing sales, and taking you to the top.

10. Deep dive into your analytics

Analytics help you understand your audience and learn what generates more traffic. Reviewing analytics emphasises stats like follower growth, page views, number of posts, likes, shares, impressions, clicks, etc

Do you have a social media strategy in place? If not, I hope this has helped to give you some tips and tools to get one set up sooner rather than later.

If you’re finding that you’re winging your social media strategy on a daily basis and could use a helping hand, get in touch! We can craft your very own bespoke strategy from just £350, helping you to get a handle on your messaging and plan your content in advance.