Social media marketing can be a powerhouse for any business – both from a branding perspective and also from the quality of leads and sales side. 

What is the key to social media success? We think it’s a mixture of strategic thinking, planning and measurement. Big broad words, we know. Rather than trying to decipher how those words apply to your specific business, let’s review some of our favorite and most qualified tips for social media success. 

Tip #1: Identify your audience

Who are you trying to reach? We recommend defining that from the start, otherwise your message may not be effective if it’s not hitting the right people. 

How can you do this? We recommend creating personas for your target audience. Regardless of your business, you should consider the following as you create personas (yes, we recommend more than one!): 

  1. Existing (happy!) clients: Study their industry, demographics, wants and needs and document. This allows you to target people very similar to your existing base. 
  2. Pain points: What does your product or service do make someone’s life easier? What problem does it solve? Now use this as a value prop for each persona to show how you will solve their problems. 

Tip #2: Deliver consistently

You have your social channels set up. You have outlined your personas. Now what? Start posting content! The best social media strategies are rooted with quality content that is consistent. 

Posting a blog or a link here and there is not a winning strategy. A winning strategy includes a focused calendar with plans. Here is how you start:

  1. Write content: Just start writing! Do not worry about quality at the start – just be consistent. Consider your target audience and the personas you created. Social posts, webinars, blogs – just keep creating content. 
  2. Curate content: Find relevant information in your industry or information that your target market would appreciate. 

Tip #3: Engage your audience

Now that you are creating consistent content, think about making that content more engaging for your audience. For companies to truly be successful with social media strategies, increasing engagement is the key! 

We recommend:

  • Engaging with your audience – Social media is a two way street. Respond to new followers with a hello! Personally answer comments and DMs as quickly as possible. 
  • Engage with other accounts – scroll through the feed of the people your company follows. Like, comment and share their content!
  • Tag when it makes sense – Make sure you are tagging users when it makes. Be it in the comments or within your social posts. 
  • Hashtag – Use relevant hashtags on Instagram and Twitter as much as possible! 
  • Testing paid social campaigns – we can help with that if you don’t know where to begin!

Once you start implementing these tips, make sure you are measuring the impact. Watch the impact of your strategy by tracking followers, engagement, awareness and sales. 

We challenge you to focus on these three tips for just 90 days. Report back and let us know how your business was impacted!