How can a social media strategy help your company? 6 things you should do

We already spoke about the advantages an online presence can bring to your business. But, in the following lines, we will explain that a good online presence can also be based on a well thought and strong social media strategy. Why? Because your target audience is on social media and that’s an important success factor for your company in the digital sphere. 

How? Please consider the 6 steps we introduce next.

1. Define your strategy goals

A social media strategy won’t just give visibility to your business or brand. It serves also to work on your image, through coherent interaction on social media. Your goals can be:

• Improve contact with customers
• Increase web presence
• Improve sales
• Fidelize clients
• Work on the brand’s emotional side

2. Know who you’re communicating to

For your strategy to work, it is necessary to know who you are communicating to who your audience is, what age, area of profession, interests, studies, etc. This can determine the way you communicate, regarding language and tone: it can be more or less informal, depending on your brand’s identity and target audience.

3. Have a plan for each network

Social networks are distinct and have different audiences, which means strategy should take into account the features of each one. This is, planning should be directed to each social network, understanding optimal posting frequency, best schedules to reach a bigger amount of users and what type of content performs better on each network. Of course, there isn’t a magical formula that works for everyone. On the contrary, besides planning you should also notice, in the long run, what works better for your brand and adjust it. 

Over and above, you don’t need to be present on all social networks. Know which can favor your business, taking into consideration each network traits:

• Facebook: has 2 billion users, so it’s very likely that your audience is also using this platform;
• Instagram: most users are under 35 years; it’s a network that prioritizes visual content and image; 
• Twitter: where it’s possible to engage in global conversations and issues, whether social, political, cultural or economical;
• Linkedin: dedicated to the business world, it’s ideal to establish professional contacts, especially in the industrial business. 

Apart from this, in order to benefit your brand’s growth and prestige on social media, it’s imperative to look upon the ideal publishing frequency for each network – an estimate according to Neil Patel:

• Facebook: several times a day;
• Instagram: once a day;
• Twitter: three times a day;
• Linkedin: once a week.

4. Create value-added content, for each network

The content you share is fundamental to obtain the best results possible on social media. Sharing without purpose is not enough. It is required to figure out what the audience needs. It is also important to keep the audience entertained and engaged, with matters that add value and that can be easily distinguished from all the content shares happening every second on social media. 

Know-how of the ongoing trends is an advantage. Tools like Google Trends can help you understand what’s booming. 

Yet, the right content should be created for each network. For example, if you wish to share an article from your blog on Instagram, maybe you should consider using an image or infographics, bearing in mind the importance of image on this social channel. 

5. Be consistent, transparent and human

Social media users like to know what they can count on. They know consistency and coherence are strong indicators of a professional and trustworthy business or brand. In this regard, your business description should be the same on all networks – adapting to the number of characters possible. This demonstrates preoccupation and professionalism. Consistency is also valid on a graphical level: use the same profile images, for example. Users will be more likely to identify your brand on different platforms.

In addition, you can and should show “behind the scenes” of your company. And be transparent. Don’t show what you’re not. People enjoy authenticity and are entertained when they know a bit more about the brand that caught their eye. 

Ideally, standardizing publishing processes is the best option when managing several channels. However, the secret lies in humanizing posts as much as possible. It’s important to establish an emotional connection with users and potential customers.

6. Understand the impact of your publications

Besides interacting with users – through comment replies, giveaways, sharing followers content, etc. – it’s necessary to realize what’s the impact of your own posts in order to understand if your strategy is working.

Currently, all social networks provide their own metrics that will help you understand the reach of your publication, as well as its engagement level. With this, you’ll be capable of investing in the most successful types of content for each channel.

Like that, it will be possible to adjust your strategy and so obtain better results.

If you need guidance, talk to us. If you’re not sure where to start, begin by sending us an email to info@67.pt or contact us through phone: +351 170 101.