How to Create a Social Media Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide

Use your work-from-home time wisely to develop a social media plan.
When talking to new business owners -- and even more experienced ones -- there’s one thing I hear a lot: “I don’t have enough time to focus on marketing and social media.” And the truth is I totally get it! As important as these channels are to reach the right audience and create awareness, when running a business there’s a million other things to focus about. 

So why not take advantage of some down time due to the current quarantine mandate time to learn a little bit more about how to get started? I’ve worked on a few tips for you.

What’s a social media strategy?

Before you start working on your social media strategy, it’s important to understand what this is and why you need one. For non-marketers who are getting used to the lingo, a social media strategy is a defined set of goals, resources, tools, target audiences and metrics that will determine future steps and success of social media efforts.

According to social media scheduling tool Buffer, “Without a strategy, you might be posting on social media platforms for the sake of posting. Without understanding what your goals are, who your target audience is, and what they want, it’ll be hard to achieve results on social media.”

So how do I get started?

Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper can be scary and intimidating. So don’t! Instead, start by following these five steps and voila! By the time you’re done, you’ll be halfway through your social media strategy. 

1. Define your voice and brand
   
   This first step is extremely important because it’ll determine what you share and how to do it. If you don’t work hard on defining this, your social media pages will be confusing and disjointed, leaving people wondering what it is that you’re trying to accomplish.
   
   
   
2. Determine your target audience and how you’re helping them.
   
   Your target audience is anyone who you’d like to buy your product. But you have to understand how to talk to them.
   
   For example, if your goal is to start a funny lifestyle blog for women between 21 and 35 years old, your tone and voice could be relaxed or witty. However, if you’re a high-end chef who wants to promote expensive cooking classes, you’ll want to focus on sharing recipes and sparking the interest of an audience that can afford your services. Remember that “everyone” is not a target audience, and the more specific your segment is, the better you’ll be able to tailor each message. A good tip to defining your audience is thinking “who has this problem and how am I solving it with my product or service?”
   
   
   
3. Do your research on social platforms
   
   Much like businesses, not all social platforms are created equally, and it’s up to you to determine which channels are more relevant for your voice, brand, product and clientele. Luckily, the numbers don’t lie!
   
   If you don’t know where to start, do some research on social platforms by demographics, geographic location and time of day. This statista.com analysis might be a good place to get started.
   
   Pro Tip: Determining the right channel for your audience doesn’t mean you should abandon the others!
   
   
   
4. Develop a right cadence
   
   I often get asked about the “magic number” for social media posting, but the truth is there is no such thing. I always tell my clients that knowing your audience and what they like is the only factor that will help them determine this. When it comes to millennials on Twitter, for example, the more the merrier! But if you’re an online banking platform who targets hedge-fund managers on LinkedIn, you’ll likely annoy them with more than one message a day.
   
   
   
5. Find out what success means to you
   
   Social media success can be hard to determine if you don’t know what your goals are. For many brands, for instance, simply looking at their metrics and determining engagement will be enough. For others, however, unless social posts are actually generating leads and conversions, social campaigns won’t be deemed successful. Remember this is completely up to you and you can always alter your metrics as you go. 
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Once you’ve followed these steps you have enough information to start working on a content calendar. Remember that the more content you have, the easier it’ll be to pre schedule with plenty of time.

Are you struggling to take the first step? Let’s talk! A quick chat might be just what you need to get you going. Contact me at brianna@shelkosocialmedia.com and I’ll guide you and your team through the process.