Social media marketing is one of the most effective tools in your brand’s toolbox. One viral post can send your sales into overdrive but consistency is best. But how can you create an effective social media strategy? In this post, we will outline the key steps you need to take to take your social media strategy to the next level.
Set your goals
Let’s say you’re trying to get fit. Would you go to the gym and hope for the best? Or would you set some clear goals to help you along the way? Creating an effective social media strategy is the same – skipping the goal-setting will make it much harder to see results.
But how do you set goals? And what should they be? Your goals should be SMART – that is, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. So, you don’t want to say your goal is to gain 20 million followers in 3 days because that’s wildly unrealistic. Instead, you might say, ‘I’d like to increase followers by 2-3% per month for 12 months’. This is more realistic and attainable, reducing the potential for disappointment later.
The best way to define your goals is to have a goal-setting session. In this session, you can think about where you want your business to be (realistically) in the next 3, 6 or 12 months. For example, you might wish to have more followers or improve sales. Once you’ve identified your broad goal, it will be easier to be more specific.
If your broad goal is to improve sales, your SMART goal might be to increase the website’s click-through rate by 2% each month this quarter. Implementing a SMART goal like this makes it much easier to see exactly what you want to do and build your strategy around it.
Define your target audience
Understanding your target audience will be one of the most important steps in this process. Once you know who you want to target, you can learn how best to do this. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach with audience – platforms and content that work for one, may not work for another. Knowing who you want to appeal to puts you at a distinct advantage. For example, if you want to target millennials, you’re better off focusing on Instagram instead of a platform for teenagers, like Snapchat.
Once you’ve defined your key audience, the next steps in the strategy are much easier so it’s best not to skip this process.
Conduct a social media audit
To understand what you need to do, you should look at what you already have. Check any social media pages you already have to identify what has worked well, what hasn’t worked well and if there are any gaps in the content. Keep track of your findings so you can refer to them when building your content calendar later.
Your favourite post might differ from your audience’s so you should use analytics to back up your ideas. An infographic you posted might be visually appealing but if the audience didn’t engage with it, you need to note that down and figure out why. Was the information too complex? Or did it show information on something irrelevant to your current audience? Understanding the answers to these questions can help you throughout the strategising process.
Conduct a competitor analysis
Next, you should identify your main competitors and browse their social media profiles. What has worked well for them previously? What seems to have failed? By doing this, you can avoid mistakes they’ve made whilst filling in any gaps they’ve left, proving to your audience that you’re the #1 authority in your field.
Try not to get carried away with too many competitors. Too many cooks spoil the broth, something you want to avoid when cooking up an effective social media strategy. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself so stick to 2 or 3 of your closest competitors at first.
Identify key metrics
So you’ve set your SMART goals but how will you decide if you’ve achieved them? That’s where metrics come into play – they are measurable and can help you understand what you need to improve on as you progress.
Which metrics should you choose? Go back again and look at your goals – your key metrics should align with these. For example, if your goal is to increase followers by 2% every month for 12 months, your key metrics might be reach, engagement and followers. Alternatively, if your goal is to increase revenue by 5% every quarter in 2025, your key metrics might be clickthrough rate or conversions.
Choose your platforms
Next, identify which social media platforms are best for your brand. How do you decide which platforms are best for you? We recommend looking at the channels your competitors are succeeding on. If your rival is an Italian restaurant and they’re performing well on Instagram, then there’s a good chance that’s where your target audience is. On the other hand, if you can see your competitor is struggling with their X account, then you know to avoid this when selecting your platforms.
We recommend selecting 2-3 platforms in the first instance so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Remember your content should be high quality and modified for each platform so choosing more than this at this stage will mean that’s all you have time to focus on.
Create a bespoke content calendar
The next step is to create a content calendar. This should include mixed media, including videos, photos and graphics across platforms. Your content calendar should identify what you’re posting, when and where. Ideally, your content calendar would be a week or month ahead so you know what’s happening but don’t be afraid to publish spontaneous content too to increase your authenticity.
Consistency is key, especially with ever-changing algorithms. This means you should aim to publish content regularly but try not to overstretch yourself. If you start by posting 5 feed posts and 10 stories a week, you should continue doing that. Sometimes, committing to fewer posts to test the waters and increase if you have time and resources is best.
Engage with your community
There is no point in building a community around your brand if you don’t engage with it. Liking, commenting and interacting with people on social media platforms can help you build authority and improve customer sentiment. Also, if you reply promptly to any questions or complaints, you can establish a reputation for caring about your community.
Offering surveys, polls and competitions can make your community feel like their voices are being heard. By showing people you value their opinions, you set yourself ahead of brands with cold, or non-existent customer service. Then, customers will be more likely to return and share you with their friends and family.
Monitor the analytics & adjust for a results-driven approach
The final stage in your effective social media strategy is monitoring your results and making necessary improvements. Since you’re unlikely to see overnight success, tracking analytics and generating reports to identify what works and what doesn’t will benefit you in the long run.
We understand you might be too busy to think too carefully about social media strategy. However, organic social media allows you to build trust with your audience and generally offers a higher ROI in the long run. This makes it a valuable area to invest in. If you’re struggling to find the time to commit to a long-term social media strategy, contact Verbawise today – we can create a bespoke package just for you.
