Social Media Marketing Strategy Tutorial in 7 Steps (and Guide)
– Social media strategy is a
long game that anyone can play. It just takes a little practice. With thousands of brands online, having a strategy is crucial,
especially if you want to stand out from your competition. Hi, I'm Jamia, and today I'm
your Sprout Social coach. I'll teach you how to
create your first strategy in just seven steps. Before we start, social media moves fast. Subscribe to our channel to keep up. So why have a social strategy? Because your audience
is already on social. A strategy will be your
roadmap to how you engage with them so you can
maximize your social presence and grow your business.
One in three consumers say social media is a preferred way to learn about brands. It's a one stop shop for
people to discover your brand, your customer service, and
to find helpful insights for your business. But social media is an investment and you need a strategy
to make the most of it. I'm going to show you
exactly how to do this. Now that you know why you need
a strategy, lets get started on your game plan.
(whistle trills) The first step is setting
social media goals for your business. Consider the business
goals you already have. What does your brand want to accomplish? Consider how social can
help you meet those goals. Some common goals include
increase brand awareness. This means you want more people
to know about your brand. Generate demand. This refers to increasing your leads, sales, and conversions. And boost engagement, which means your online
community actively engages with you on social media. Try to keep your goals
simple and realistic. Start off with one or two that align with your business goals and
rally your team behind them.
(people cheering) The next step is researching
your target audience. You can't build a strategy unless you know who the content is for. So use your target audience
to guide everything, from your content to the
social networks you use most. Think of it like this. You wouldn't try to sell a
soccer jersey to a tennis fan. Get to know your audience by
looking at key demographics like their age, location, and
even the networks they prefer. For example, if you're a
makeup brand targeting Gen Z, posting tutorials on
their favorite networks like TikTok could be a hit.
And pay attention to the
content your audience likes, comments on, and shares the most. This can help you decide
what kinds of posts to do more of and which you can scrap. Each social network has
an analytics section that can show your top
demographics and posts. You can also use a social
media management software like Sprout Social to learn about your audience and posts too. Your followers are your fans. Doing this research will win
you major points with them. The next step is define your KPIs. No matter your industry or goals, your strategy should be data driven. This is why defining your
KPIs is so important. KPI stands for key performance indicator. A KPI is a metric used to measure and analyze the performance
of your strategy. Likes, comments, and shares
are common KPIs for social, but there are a lot of
metrics to choose from. Keep it simple, and select the KPIs that best
match your business goals.
Go beyond the vanity metrics
like follower account, which don't tell you the full story. Instead, look at bigger picture
metrics like engagement. A large following looks great, but if your followers aren't
engaging through likes, comments, and shares, you're not
truly making a connection. Remember, KPIs are used to
analyze your social data. It takes a combination of metrics to see if you're reaching your goals,
so avoid relying on just one.
Now it's time for step four. Keep an eye on the competition. Think of this as watching
your rival team play. What content scores them the most points and where do they drop the ball? Do a quick search on Google and social media to
identify your competition. Analyze their profiles
to identify their high and low points. Then compare their social
presence to your own. Also, pay attention to captions, popular hashtags, and
trends for inspiration. Doing this will help you
think about how your brand can innovate or stand
out against competitors.
Now we're at the most fun
step, creating content. You just need a camera or
smartphone to get started. You don't need an entire film crew, even though they are helpful. Hey, y'all. Aim for a mix of content
types to help you organize. For example, your content
types could be product photos, memes, and expert tips. As you cycle through each
of these, pay attention to which ones your audience
enjoys seeing most. When creating, remember to
connect through humanity. Consumers pick brands that
align with their values. Create content that shows
what your business means to you and your customers. Don't be afraid to dabble
in the latest social trend or try something new too. It could lead to some of your best posts. Now for step six, execute your game plan. If your strategy is your playbook, your content represents your players. Just like in a game, you
need to stay organized and use the right players
at the right time. To keep fresh content flowing, plan your posts with a content calendar.
A content calendar helps
you execute your strategy by organizing and planning posts for each day of the week or month. Plan how you want to engage
with your audience as well. Will you respond to comments and DMs with personal responses or templates? Social customer care is
important for brands. Quick responses help build
a loyal community online. Social media management tools like Sprout allow you to schedule posts in advance and respond to
messages on one platform.
This saves you time and ensures
you're posting everything at the right moment, including responses. Now for our final step,
revise your strategy. You've gone through all the steps. It's time to track your progress and begin reworking your playbook, aka revising your strategy. Social is ever changing. What works this month
may not work the next, so your strategy should
adapt throughout the year. Plus, if you don't
analyze your performance, you'll never know what is truly working. Monitor metrics in real time so you can tweak your
strategy as needed, saving you from having to make sweeping
time consuming changes at once. Remember to share your data with other members of your organization. It can help you earn buy-in from stakeholders who can help level up your brand's social strategy. Social media strategy is a long game. It's like a tournament of brands.
So master the art of
testing, tracking, iterating, and listening to your audience
to grow your business. Now you have everything you
need to build a strategy. Here's a screenshot
friendly list that recaps the seven steps. The greatest athletes never stop training. Keep working towards becoming
a champion of social. Thanks for watching. If you want to learn more
about creating a strategy, download our guide and it'll
walk you through the steps. You can click this link
here or in the description. If this video was helpful,
give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our
channel for more tips. See you next time and remember
to never stop growing..