3 Tips to a Social Media Strategy that Works
I was reading an article a few weeks ago about social media strategy, and the author made a great analogy comparing social media to a car. You generally don’t get into a car without knowing where you’re going, and your social media should really be no different. Whether you’re just using your social media presence for fun or to keep in touch, or you’re using it to try to grow a business, a strategy is the map you need to get you where you want to go. I thought I’d provide some high-level details on three items you really need to consider before you put up your next post!
Note: I’d suggest following along in this blog with a tablet and pen, answering my questions as I go down through. This way, as you continue posting to your social media, you can call back to these questions to help you steer your “car” in the right direction.
Find your voice
I want you to think about two things: What is your typical, conversational tone? Now, what is your written tone? Most people will have similarities between these two, but I do think that they are worth mentioning separately, since BOTH of these avenues are used in social media. Maybe when you talk you’re bubbly and use your hands a lot, but when you write, it is more straight and to the point without a lot of fluff. Make it a point to decide how you would like to be perceived by your audience (stay tuned) and then write down the in-person and written qualities of the type of voice you would use to talk to them. Consistency in how you message will help your audience learn to trust you, and let’s be honest – that is the key to building relationships, gaining followers and customers, and having the impact with social media that you want.
Identify Your Audience
I wrote an entire blog on this before, which you can check here, but it is absolutely worth repeating! You have to know who you are talking to before you can speak to them. If you’re speaking to an audience of 50 year old women but really, you want to be marketing to women aged 25-40, there is a big difference in messaging that you need to account for. Be specific and exclusive on how you talk to your audience, because you want to be as specific as possible. People obsess over having these huge target audiences, but the truth of the matter is that thousands and thousands of people have built huge brands, businesses, companies, and names having a narrow audience. How’s that saying go? If you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one. Don’t let it scare you – allow it to set you free! Think of the pressure it takes off of you if you know you JUST have to market to 25 year old men who are athletic, live in Orlando Florida, have a Bachelors to Master’s degree, are single, and who enjoy music versus men aged 18-60 who have an interest in golf. The winning formula is in the details. Be narrow and embrace it.
Pro tip for business: On your business’s Facebook page, click on the “insights” tab, followed by the “People” tab. This gives you a demographic on your current followers.
Let your goals drive you
Take a solid look at where you want social media to take you. In a perfect world, what does your social media look like? Do you have 1000 followers, or 100,000? How do you use your social media image and power? Where are you headed in your business that social media can support you? Write down 5-10 ways that social media can impact your personal or business goals, then break each goal down into actionable items. If you don’t put action to your ideas, they won’t work. If, for example, you want to sell your new book and you think social media can help, write down that you can utilize Facebook and Instagram to start providing quotes from your book as teasers, build hype for your book release by creating excitement, run a Lead Ad which can gather interested people’s information to keep the excitement going off of social media, and connect with others who are excited for your release and will be willing “ambassadors” for your new book. These are all items that you can work on to get you to the ultimate goal of selling copies of your new book.
I hope that these topics have helped you to, at a minimum, start to think about how important a social media strategy is for your personal brand or business. I know that the task can seem overwhelming, and this is really just scratching the surface, but when you start to think about how important this item is, you will start to uncover the power that is available with good social media use.
Where are you most stuck in developing your strategy? Leave your comment below or email me here.
