Social Media: Thinking Strategically, Implementing Methodically
Don’t press that post button yet. If you are currently posting content to social media without a strategy, or if you are thinking about launching a social presence, read this post and then go forth and prosper.
Not having a social media strategy is like preparing for a marathon without a training plan, though with a few simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to stamina and success.
Conduct a Social Media Audit
If you have a social media presence, establish benchmarks of where you have been:
Demographics on each channel (age, gender breakdown, location)
Days and times that your audience is active
Vanity metrics (followers, likes, total reach including paid and organic)
Engagements (link clicks, video views, shares)
Year-over-Year delta (Have your engagements and following increased? Decreased?)
Most resonate posts
Establish Goals
What are you trying to do on social media? Build awareness? Drive traffic to your website? Establish your brand as experts or as an authority? Share content? The answer can be all of the above, just get it on paper so you can be reminded of those goals later on.
When setting goals based on your benchmarks, remember that social algorithms are constantly changing. While you may want to increase engagements by 10%, for example, a pesky algorithm may sneak in mid-year and wreak havoc.
Solidify Where Your Audience “Lives” on Social Media
You might be expending energy on a social channel where your target audience is nowhere to be found. Your audit will help inform this piece. For example, if you appeal to Gen Z, Facebook is not your scene, unless you are also targeting their parents. If this is the case, your content needs to be tailored as such.
Establish Content Pillars
Content pillars are areas of content that focus on a certain topic. Pillars will help you diversify your content and give you direction for planning.
Here is an example of content pillars for an Elevate client, a B2B event planning company with a commitment to education, DEI principles, and family tradition.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Best practices in event planning
Holidays and recognitions
Inspiration and culture
Testimonials, case studies, and past performance
Behind the Scenes (BTS)
Create an Editorial Calendar
An editorial calendar focuses on content, not logistics. Perhaps there are particular holidays that are important for your business, “National Days” that are relevant, periods throughout the year where you make fundraising appeals–map all of these out in Google Sheets. You don’t need a fancy tool or application.
When planning out your calendar, consider your audience’s pain points. What does your audience need? How can you help solve a problem that your audience may not know they even have?
You can develop this calendar on a quarterly or monthly basis (the former is recommended).
Build a Schedule
What is critically important here is committing to a social presence that is feasible and attainable for you (or your staff). We’re going for quality over quantity; consistent posts over constant posts.
Do you need to post on Facebook or Instagram every day? No. Even two posts a week will help you gain mileage. You need to show up on a cadence that your readers learn to expect.
Make your life easier and schedule posts. There are both free and paid tools that will help you save time, front-load work, and maximize efficiencies.
Engage, Engage, Engage
Specifically on Instagram, the algorithm wants to see you engaging in posts, stories, and hashtags. Designate 10 minutes in each area and respond to content that speaks to you with thoughtful comments.
Measurement and Analysis
Scan your metrics monthly and compile a quarterly report that details your progress.
Need a jumpstart? Use this template to establish social media benchmarks.
