Social media isn’t just an addictive diversion; it is also a powerful marketing tool.
But, signing up for an Instagram or Twitter account isn’t enough. If you want to use social media to grow your company’s reach and revenue, you will need a social media marketing plan.
What does this mean? According to HootSuite, “A social media marketing plan is the summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve for your business using social networks. This plan should comprise an audit of where your accounts are today, goals for where you want them to be in the near future, and all the tools you want to use to get there.”
If you’re not sure where to start with a social media marketing plan, you’re in good hands! Here is how to get started, in just 5 simple steps.
1. Audit your current social media marketing plan
Do you currently have a plan? Too often, people are signed up for more social media accounts than they know what to do with.
Still, it’s important to have a plan and clear goals for each social media channel you’re on. Don’t invest your time in pinning cupcakes and furry animals if this isn’t a part of your overall plan to grow your business.
Have a purpose, or a mission statement, for each of your platforms. That means deleting accounts without purpose — they won’t impact growth, but they will waste your time.
Steer clear of spammy practices like following thousands of Twitter accounts that are irrelevant to your brand without engaging with them. If you are following twenty thousand people and 135 people follow you on Twitter, your account will look spammy and a desperate.
2. Track key performance indicators
Your KPIs, or key performance indicators let you know if you’re hitting your goals. And, they may change over time.
It’s ok if you’re not where you want to be in terms of online presence, but you need to have a concrete vision of how to get there. If your goal is to gain more followers, write down how many you have now, and how many you wish to have in the next three months. Do the same with engagement, social media impact, and so on, then spend time delving into how you’re going to make that happen.
You might need to up your SEO game, or learn how to use the right hashtags. Maybe your content is perfect, but you’re not posting at the right times or with enough consistency. It will take time to figure out your perfect formula, but first you should have your goals written out clearly, as well as how you will achieve them.
If you’re struggling with coming up with goals, seek inspiration. Find out who the big players are in your field and follow them. What kind of content do they post? Who is following them? What have they done to grow in a short period of time? Analyze their marketing strategy and use this to emulate their success within your plan.
3. Create consistent branding across all of your accounts
This should go without saying, but all of your accounts should be the best versions of themselves at all times. Your brand should be clear, concise, and consistent throughout all of your platforms. Your bios should be filled out properly, spell-checked, and with working links. If someone finds you on Instagram, but you have a blatant grammar error in your bio, and the link to your website doesn’t work, it’s safe to say that the person will not also follow you on Twitter, let alone purchase your product.
Make your brand as professional as possible, but also memorable. Use vivid imagery with photos you have taken, and make sure they all match up across your platforms. If you’re having difficulty finding your branding voice, or what makes your company unique, hire a professional designer or branding specialist to help you out.
4. Develop a social media editorial calendar
Now that your accounts are streamlined and you have concrete goals in place, it’s time to put your plan into action. By using a social media marketing planning template, Calendar, and a tool like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Edgar, write out and schedule your plan a month at a time.
Being able to visually see your plan laid out will not only help to organize your social media blueprint, it will make it much less overwhelming and keep you on track.
5. Build, measure, and learn
Whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly, it’s important to review which channels, ads, posts, Tweets, etc. are performing the best, what your optimal posting times are, who your demographic is, and so on.
When reviewing, you can increase the frequency of the activities that are working, and eliminate the activities that are not working.
It might seem like a great deal of work to put a social media marketing plan into place, but staying organized
As long as you keep your accounts up to date, you will simply have to maintain a calendar, analyze statistics, and keep expanding your goals. This is the best way to use social media to achieve professional growth, and not simply to waste time. And on social media, there is much time to be wasted.
What do you think of this guide to creating a social media marketing plan? Have you created one, and how did it help you? Please share your advice with us below!
