How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy

While Social Media Marketing is constantly evolving, most of the basic steps you need to take to succeed are the same. Basically, you're following the same steps to create a marketing strategy and narrow it down to a specific channel.

Let's cover these steps in more detail so you can start applying them to your Business

Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy

Step 1: Research your Buyer Personality and Audience.

The first step in creating a social media marketing strategy is to determine who your buyer personality and audience are so that you can target their needs and interests.

To do this, think about who you are trying to reach and why, and how you would classify them as a group. For example, if your company sells trendy leggings and joggers, you can classify your target audience as millennials who prefer to wear regular stylish athletic clothing - a style known as athletes.

Considering your buyer's personality and audience, you will then be able to determine which content will attract followers and the type of customers you expect to benefit. Also, learn how to create compelling content to keep your followers interested.

Step 2: Decide which Social Platform you will Market

As a social media marketer, it is very important to decide on which platform you are going to share your content.

There is no right or wrong answer to which social channels your business should use - it's more about the needs of your target audience and where they spend their time.

Andrew Delaney, Hubspot's former social media marketing manager, said: "It's important to know where your potential customers are today and where they might be tomorrow." "Better a poor horse than no horse at all."

For example, if you're looking for a sports-savvy millennial target audience, you may want to focus the lion's share of your social media efforts on Instagram - because millennials cover the vast majority of platform users.

Stephanie Morgan, founder and CEO of the social media agency Social Lock, echoed that sentiment.

"Think about their behavior and where they chat online. If it's Pinterest, use that platform for your brand. If it's TikTok, use that platform for your brand," Morgan added. "Don't waste time on platforms where your ideal client avatar isn't very active."

Step 3: Set Your Most Important Metrics and KPIs

Whatever your goal or industry, your social media strategy should be data-driven.

This means focusing on the social media metrics which is important. Instead of focusing on vanity metrics, dig into data aligned directly with your goals.

Are we talking about the matrix? Check out the breakdown below:

Reach. The number of unique users who have viewed your post is to reach the post. How much of your content actually reaches users' feeds?

Click. This is the number of clicks on your content or account. Clicking on each campaign is essential to understand what drives curiosity or motivates people to buy.

Busy. The total number of social contacts is divided by the number of impressions. It sheds light on how well your audience perceives you and their desire to interact.

Hashtag performance. What was your most used hashtag? Which hashtags were most associated with your brand? Having these answers can help you move your content focus forward.

Organic and Paid Like. Beyond a standard "like" count, these interactions are responsible for payment or organic content. Considering how difficult it is to achieve organic engagement, many brands are leaning towards advertising. Knowing these differences can help you budget both your advertising spend and the time spent investing in different formats.

Emotions. It is a measure of how users respond to your content, brand or hashtag. Customers have found your recent campaign offensive? What kind of feeling do people associate with your campaign hashtag? It's always a good idea to dig deeper into how people talk or feel about your brand.

Step 4: Know your Competition

A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they are doing (and not so good). You'll get a better idea of what's expected in your industry, which will help you set your own social media goals.

It will also help you identify opportunities.

Maybe one of your competitors is influential on Facebook, for example, but has made little effort on Twitter or Instagram. Instead of trying to win over fans from influential players, you may want to focus on networks where your audience is under-served.

Step 5: Create Unique and Compelling Content

With millions of social media users around the world, there's no question that at least some of your followers - or people browsing your profile - have also seen your competitor's content or other business content in your industry.

That's why you must have interesting social media content that is different and gives viewers a reason to click that "follow" button and interact with your brand.

Not sure what is considered attractive? Morgan has a recommendation.

"My number one tip for brands to create engaging content on social media is to do market research first because what will be attractive depends on the audience," Morgan said. "Once you know what your audience likes and needs to know, you can create content that caters to those interests."

To help you get creative, consider what your competitors are sharing and how you can uniquely promote your products. Also, take advantage of the features offered by the platform you are using.

For example, you can create a live video on Facebook to share the latest details about a product launch or to give a gift.

You can also use your existing customers and promoters to help you create content. You can do this by re-posting their content or encouraging them to use a hashtag to share their own experiences and photos with your product.

Finally, the leverage trend. The trend of social media is always on the rise, especially on short-form video platforms like TickTock. Don’t be afraid to join but you still have to be intentional about how you do it.

"If the trend started happening three weeks ago, you probably missed the boat," Morgan said. "Trends caught early are the best way to capitalize on this, not come as unauthentic or you're trying too hard, or worse.

Step 6: Organize a Schedule for your Posts

The easiest way to ensure that your content is shared as planned is to use social media management solutions. These tools allow you to write captions, create photos and videos, and schedule posts in advance. They automatically share your content on schedule and monitor all post interactions and engagements for you. Social media management solutions save you time and allow you to focus on your other tasks.