A Guide to Building a Social Content Strategy

Now is the time to build a social content strategy that aligns with your goals and breaks down barriers. Although it is important to have a presence – the right strategy is not jumping into creating an account for each social platform. If you really want to maximize your social efforts, it is essential to really strategize. Below are five steps to building your perfect strategy: 

1. Research and Targeting

It is key to know who your audiences are. And what content works best for them.

Try creating a competitive analysis. Now, this does not need to be a super formal process. Essentially look at what your competitors are doing and see what is and what is not working for them. Are there any Twitter polls? Are you able to see any Facebook or LinkedIn ads? Are they using Instagram? If so, do they use hashtags on their posts? It is important to be mindful of what your competitors are doing and take notes from it.

2. Identifying Goals

Next up, think of your goals. When identifying, make sure your goals support your brand’s ambitions and vision. 

The most common goal is increasing awareness. By increasing awareness and/or brand recognition, you are essentially just trying to get your name out there more. This could be in the form of sending out promotional posts about your company, any upcoming events, a giveaway, etc. Ideally, these posts will help you gain not only traffic but more followers.

3. Choosing the Right Platforms

Social media channels are not a one size fits all. It is important to keep your goals and audiences in mind when selecting where to market your brand. For example, if you have a lot of videos or capacity to develop videos, YouTube may be a good fit for you. If you have educational materials like white papers or case studies, LinkedIn is your go-to. 

4. Creating a Content Process Strategy 

Content is the heart of any social media strategy. Neglecting to create valuable and engaging social media content will leave you frustrated with results.

With that in mind, I cannot stress this enough, plan ahead. Think about what makes your brand and/or company unique, and present those ideas in a way consumers will enjoy. In short, process what makes your brand special. 

5. Create Consistency 

When I think of consistency on social media, two ideas come to mind: a set schedule and a “voice”. 

Times vary depending on your target audiences and the specific social platform. Opinions vary, but Sprout Social has a great guide for 2019 based on each channel. 

Every time you schedule a social media post, you are creating a “voice” for your brand. So, especially with the potential opportunity of more than one person managing your social media and/or contributing to your end goals, don’t you think it’s important to keep a consistent voice? 

For more in-depth details and more ideas, join me on August 8 for a webinar. The webinar will air at 11:30 am, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. EST. Register here!