Social success starts with a great strategy!

Ad hoc, on-the-fly social media posts might get you some engagement.

Some of them might take off. Some of them might be a complete flop.

But when you’re putting your time into running a social media campaign, you don’t really want to be dealing in ‘mights’. You want to make sure that your efforts are going to pay off; you want to create fun, informative, shareable content that’s going to resonate with your fans and boost your brand’s profile. Every time.

And that’s why I always tell my clients that their social success starts with a well-rounded, well-considered strategy.

If you want to manage your social media output yourself, then taking the time to plan, craft and schedule your posts upfront will pay dividends in the longer term. It’s also a better use of your valuable hours, because you can ‘batch’ a lot of the work together and block out a certain amount of time to come up with content concepts and action your ideas.

The question is, how do you go about putting together a strategy that’s effective, sustainable, and that will help you start smashing your bigger business goals?

How to come up with a killer social media strategy

Choose your social media channels wisely

You don’t need to be present across every single social media network going. The trick is to put your energy into the platforms that house your ideal clients.

The Big Four – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn – are the most popular choices for today’s businesses. They are well-established, they boast huge communities, and they offer lots of extra features to help you showcase your products and services online. But, depending on the kind of business you’re running, and the types of people you want to reach, some will prove to be more lucrative for you than others.

Have a read of my previous blog to discover . 

Look to your competitors for guidance

Imitation is the best form of flattery, right?

OK, so you don’t want to copy your competitor’s social media campaigns word for word. That would be unethical, not to mention very unprofessional. But you can keep a close eye on the content that’s going down well in your industry and take inspiration from the posts that are proving to be a hit for other companies in your space.

Here are a few tips on how to use competitor analysis and social listening techniques to stay in touch with the themes and topics that are going down a storm online.

Research your hashtags

Statistics show that posts with hashtags tend to get tonnes more reach and significantly more engagement. But to use these handy little octothorpe identifiers to your best advantage, you need to use keywords and phrases that are totally relevant to your content.

This is easier said than done, because hashtag trends change all the time and will vary from platform to platform. Learn more about how to find the right hashtags for your posts here.

Make the most of the content you’re publishing elsewhere

The best social strategies make good use of a brand’s entire content portfolio.

Posted a blog? Share it on your socials! Created a how-to video? Link to it from your feeds! Sent out a press release? Shout about it to your followers! (…You get the idea.)

If you find yourself getting stuck at the creative stage, here are a few tips to help you come up with blog topics that are bound to strike a chord with your audience.

These are just a few pointers that will help you put together the right social media strategy for your business. There’s so much more to consider, and if you’re new to the social game, it can all seem pretty overwhelming.

Don’t panic, though – because I’ve put together a FREE Seven Step Social Media Strategy Masterclass to get you started!

In this 25 minute video, I will talk you through the tools and techniques you can use to create a foolproof, do-it-yourself social media plan.

Best of all, I’ve included an awesome special offer right at the end of the video, as a thank-you for listening.

Find out more and sign up for my FREE masterclass here!