Social media is now used by 4.5 billion of us worldwide. For brands, it’s a goldmine of opportunities. Not only can social media help companies boost awareness and spread the word about their products, it’s also invaluable in accessing hard to reach demographics and improving brand loyalty.

But making a success of your social strategy isn’t as easy as it sounds. In this article, we’ll explain how to boost your social media value, and how to create a social media marketing strategy that gets results.

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is, quite simply, a plan of what your brand intends to do on social media to increase your digital presence.

Social media marketing strategies are used by companies that are serious about getting the maximum ROI from their social channels. Typically, social strategies summarise everything a brand plans to do on social media.

Social strategies also cover a brand’s social media goals, as well as providing guidance to all team members on how interactions on ​​social media accounts should be managed.

5 ways to improve your social media strategy

There’s no single right way to manage social media. It really depends on how you plan to use your social profiles, and who you’re hoping to reach. However, it’s always best to start with a clear and engaging social strategy. Here are five of our top tips on how to create one.

1. Set goals

Start by deciding what you hope to achieve using social media. Set a number of social media goals that link directly to your key business goals. Bear in mind the different types of content that you might use to achieve these goals and the target audiences you’re hoping to reach through social media.

2. Get to know your audience

If you’re going to make a success of your social media marketing, you’ll need a plan that’s tailored to your specific audience. So, you’ll need to know who your audience is, how they use social media and what motivates them to engage. Analyse your customer data, research competitors and find out as much as you can about who your audience is.

3. Encourage interaction

The best social profiles are those that get customers and new prospects engaging with a brand. And that’s not an easy thing to do. Incorporate ideas on how to encourage interaction into your social strategy to give your brand the opportunity to create a two-way conversation.

4. Choose your metrics and measure them

You won’t know how good your social strategy is unless you know how you’re going to measure its success. Choose the metrics that matter most to you, and start measuring them from day one. These could be click through rates, likes and comments, follower numbers, reach or anything in between.

5. Adapt as you go

Don’t be afraid to switch up your social media tactics. The best social strategies are always a work in progress. Keep checking back on your key metrics, and adapt your social strategy to do more of what your audience likes, and less of what it doesn’t. That way your strategy will evolve in real time, and it’ll keep getting better.

6. Use social media strategies to maximise your potential

Social networks provide endless opportunities for brands hoping to make a name for themselves. Not only are social media platforms great in terms of helping to spread awareness, they’re also perfect for brands wanting to share quality content and get to know their audience. Go back to basics by creating a media marketing strategy focused on social outreach, and you’ll soon start to see what social platforms can really do for your marketing.

About the author

Position Digital is a digital marketing agency that’s all about turning content into cash. We do SEO, content marketing, digital PR, outreach, email and social marketing with heart and grit – and we love working with startups and growing brands. Follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram to get in on the action.