9 Steps To Get Your Social Media Marketing on Point

We all know social media is an important part of life nowadays. Whether it be your source of news, updates, a way to keep in the loop with friends and family, just for leisure or even for business. Social media is the place to go.

When it comes to businesses though, having a fool-proof social media strategy is the key to make it work for you. However much we wish it was the case, it isn’t just as simple as posting and then putting your phone down. It takes effort, energy and a plan.

Seeing as you are here, we guess you know that social media is important for your business (rightly so!) and probably already have social media accounts set up and ready. So, we will just jump straight in with our 9 steps for you to follow to up your social media game and keep all corners covered!

1. Your assets

Arguably the most important part. This includes pictures, videos, information, reviews, all the things you want to share with your potential customers. We like to create a Google Drive folder and then have separate folders for the different types of assets, this way you always have a bank of things to come to when you’re planning your social media content!

Make this a priority. High-quality assets play a big role in having success on social media. Behind the scenes shots, product photography, model images, promotional videos, whatever is relevant to your business, have it.

2. Post consistently

Ok so now you have your assets ready to go, the next stage is to get consistent with your posting. The algorithms are tricky ones to befriend. They don’t like hot and cold. They get confused. As do your customers. Put a realistic plan in place and stick to it, no matter what.

We advise posting at least once per day but if that is not realistic for you, start with 3-5 posts per week. Make it achievable and over time you can increase and work on upping the content. Starting high and being unable to stick with it will only knock your confidence and motivation.

3. Hashtags

Hashtags can help your reach, especially on Instagram and Twitter. Find hashtags that are relevant to your posts, industry and brand through research on the specific platforms. You can also use a tool like Hashtagify (link: https://hashtagify.me) to help you find suitable hashtags.

4. Timings

Yes, timing is important. Apparently, around 300 million photos are uploaded every single day. That's a lot of competition you’re fighting to get your post in front of the right people. Making sure the timing is right is a great start.

Looking into your target audience is a great place to start. What kind of people are you trying to attract? When are they online? What is your industry? All of these things can help you figure out what time of day is best for you. Most of the social platforms all have their own insights/analytics section where you can go in and look at your following and when they are most active, check that out and you’re well on your way!

5. Stories

Basically, all of the major platforms now have a story function and there's good reason for it. People love it! Stories are quick, easy pieces of content that people interact with, on Instagram people are more likely to interact with your story than they are with your actual post so you should definitely utilise this.

Sharing behind the scenes content, your own posts, other peoples posts and discussion topics are a great place to start with stories. Instagram particularly, using the stickers (poll, quiz, questions) is a fantastic way to get your audience to engage with you and let them into your brand.

6. Engage & interacting

Now you have the basic posting strategy in place, the next step, the absolutely must-do next step is to engage with your followers. Posting and turning your phone off isn’t going to cut it. Interact with people, reply to comments, comment on other relevant posts, start conversations, its about building a community and showing the brand personality.

If you respond to comments and engage, your followers are much more likely to engage with you.

7. Partnerships and influencers

This is probably a blog post on its own so for now just know that there is so much power in partnering with people online. That can be other brands and influencers. The importance is doing your research and finding people/accounts that align with your brand. You can partner with people to offer discounts, to promote your services/products and so much more. Having an influencer marketing strategy is going to be important in 2021.

8. Giveaways and fun!

At the end of the day, we all love a bit of fun, right? Social media is no different. In fact, social media is an absolute vessel for fun, whether memes, games, contests, competitions or giveaways, its got it all!

Planning something a little different every month or even a couple of months is a good way to push to increase awareness and following. Organise a giveaway either with your product/service or go back to point 7 and team up with some other accounts to create more of a buzz!

9. Paid advertising

Last, but absolutely not least, paid ads. Paid advertising on social media is one way to really hone in on your social media strategy. Whether to increase brand awareness or generate sales, advertising on social media, where all of your potential clients are probably hanging out anyway, just makes sense.

But, don’t take our word for it, hear what one of our clients had to say,

“My husband is really cynical about “giving our money away” and even he comments month on month how much the ad stuff with Tide 55 is a great investment”.

So, there you have it. Our 9 steps to follow if you want to get your social media strategy off the ground! Our final points would be to have fun with it (only if suitable, of course) and be patient. It takes time, effort and energy. But when you put all of those things together, you can truly be the leading business on social media for your industry.

Just so you know, we can actually cover all aspects of your social media strategy, if you needed an extra hand (or 5).

So if you struggle finding the time to post on social media or find that other things take precedence, get in touch and let's discuss how we can become an extension of your team, running your social media accounts!