What’s the social media advantage?
Social media is a tool to distribute information, build relationships, and convert new clients and customers. It can help elevate businesses through thoughtful, honest content.
Why is it important?
Social media ensures a cost-effective way to support your brand while remaining one of the best ways to diversify your marketing efforts.
How do I start?
Before publishing any content, it is essential to define goals that align with your business’s greater objective(s). And like with any business goal, the more specific your strategy, the more effective the execution.
The following are the essential components of an effective social media strategy that helps businesses stay competitive and connected.
Creating A Social Narrative
Each piece of content you create is a new door for customers to enter.
Ensure that this touchpoint becomes a gateway to profit and ongoing customer loyalty by creating content that is highly visual, engaging, and reflects your brand.
An effective business page is structured so that any new visitors can instantly understand the company and its vision simply from the photos, videos, and captions that support the page. This can be achieved with simple visual patterns such as consistent colors or with more specific cues like photography angles or significant objects.
Content Calendars
Create a schedule that lists the dates, times, and channels you will be sharing your content to and ensure what you’re publishing is intentional, and not overwhelming.
When you build a calendar that is customized to each platform, your business will maintain brand consistency, frequency, and accountability without overwhelming the consumer.
Facebook’s Creator Studio is a free tool with everything you need to schedule and post, plus manage and measure content across all your Facebook and Instragram accounts.
Social management platforms such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social allow you to automate posting, which can free up your time as a business, but they come at a cost, so make sure to account for that in your budget.
Social Listening
While content calendars ensure that your brand stays consistent, social media values spontaneous action, so don’t be afraid to be reactive.
Leveraging trends and conversations happening in the moment humanizes your account and helps consumers build trust with your business.
Take the 2019 chicken sandwich debate on Twitter, for example. Prompted by Popeyes, many fast-food chains were quick to share their thoughts on which sandwich reigns supreme. Engaging in this viral conversation not only amplified Wendy’s brand awareness but also boosted sales among consumers trying to end the debate once and for all.
Community Management
Considering that 71% of people are likely to buy a product after having a good experience with a company on social media, your business profits from staying engaged.
Building communities of loyal followers isn’t instant. It takes meaningful interactions and regular maintenance, such as liking, commenting, and sharing, to build an authentic connection with your followers.
The brand that listens and responds to its audience will reap the rewards of boosted engagement, conversions, and revenue.
