There is no such thing as a “go viral” button on social media. It takes strategic planning to hit the mark of selling your service or products through social media channels or creating a following that is engaged. It isn’t as easy as posting a funny cat video or dancing on TikTok and calling it a day. But, you’ve likely already discovered that if you’re reading this article. To help you get more from your social media efforts we want to walk you through a few tried and true tips and tricks to implement a social media “system” that will help your company glean real results from your efforts. And who knows, maybe you will go viral along the way! Let’s dive in.
Step 1: Create a plan for consistency
Consistency in your posting and themes, along with having a system to follow when managing your accounts is crucial to being able to grow a following, nurture that following, and convert those followers into customers.
Consistency in your approach to social media also helps to establish a recognizable brand identity and presence across all social media platforms. By using the same profile picture, header image, brand colours, and style of content, people will be able to quickly identify your brand and remember it.
Having a consistent posting schedule is also very important. A “no-no” on social media is being active for only a couple of weeks, and then not posting for a couple of months. Consistent posting can increase engagement with your audience, as they will come to expect and look forward to your content. This can lead to increased likes, followers, shares, comments, and new customers. It also establishes trust with your audience so that they can rely on your brand to provide valuable content regularly. People will come to see you as an expert in your field and will be more likely to trust your opinions and recommendations over your competitors.
The key takeaway: You have to consistently show up online to create that authority. It won’t happen overnight. Being consistent also helps the algorithm because it prioritizes accounts that post frequently and consistently.
Step 2. Develop your brand’s identity
Developing a strong brand identity on social media is crucial to stand out from the crowd and attracting the right audience. Start by defining your brand’s mission, values, and unique selling proposition. This is what makes your brand different from others in your industry, and should be at the core of your messaging. Your visual identity will include your logo, imagery themes, brand colours, and brand voice. Choose colours and fonts that represent your brand (usually these are pulled from your website or logo) and create a consistent look and feel across all of your social media posts no matter the platform.
The key takeaway: Social media has two parts that represent your brand – the visuals and the voice. Make sure you outline what they are and be intentional about it.
Step 3: Get clear on who your audience is so you can make sure you are talking specifically to your ideal customer
When you’re desperate to grow on social you try anything. You figure the more things you talk about the more likely you are to attract a wider audience. However, we’re here to tell you, that is not the case. Imagine yourself walking into the grocery store and in the midst of the crowd you start talking about all your favourite products, what aisle they are in, and what you cook with them… Some that hear you might think wow that person is really pumped up about groceries. A few might stop and listen for a moment and then carry on with their day. When you try talking to everyone you actually end up talking to no one because no one feels like you are singling them out. Your message has to be designed to talk to one specific person, to get them to react to it — To take action.
Start by identifying who your ideal customer is, including their demographics, interests, behaviours, and what problems they have, they want a solution to. Consider factors like age, gender, location, income level, education level, job title, and buying habits. This will help you create a buyer persona or customer avatar. Once you’ve outlined all these things, you’ve created a detailed description of your ideal customer. NOW, you know who you want to talk to, and can tailor your message specifically to them.
You could even conduct market research to learn more about your audience. Or, you could use your social media analytics, run a few surveys, and gather feedback on their preferences, needs, and challenges. Use the insights you gathered to create content that speaks directly to your audience’s interests, challenges, and pain points. Use language and messaging that resonates with them and offers value to them.
Key Takeaway: Yes, this is grunt work but, it’s necessary to get the results you want.
Step 4: Make a list and check it twice
Make a list of the core services or products you want to focus on promoting. Three is a good amount to start with and then you can add on others as you get into the flow of things. Keep it simple to start off with so you don’t get overwhelmed.
Now that you have a list of services, make a list of 3 ways you can talk about that product or service and I don’t just mean your hard-selling lines. If you’re a real estate agent, catering your posts to talk about your workout routine is a little off-topic. However, talking about upgrades you can make to a home before selling would be on-topic. Your content could then include ideas like installing a home gym or what updates in the kitchen have the highest return. You also want to think about and create content for the type of clients you WANT to attract. Again, we want to intentionally be specific. We don’t want the tire kickers, we don’t want a ton of other agents. We want the people who are working their way toward buying their dream homes. You want to create content for THAT followers would be engaged in hearing what advice or information you have to share.
Key takeaway: Determine the type of content you will create, the topics you will cover, and the tone of voice you will use, and then use that as your road map to success.
Step 5: Decide how many times a week you want to post and where.
There isn’t a magic number for the number of times you should post a week. It all depends on what you’re promoting, how interesting your posts are, and really how much time you want to invest. For a basic presence on social media, we’d recommend 3 posts a week. To grow your following on social media, we’d recommend 2 to 3 times a day. If you have a wide variety of content and products to promote and a large following, then 4 posts a day may benefit you. But, don’t skip out on the quality of your posts just to simply have a presence on social media that is more focused on hitting a quota. Bad content will fall flat and if it’s not well-targeted to speak to the person you want, you might as well be talking to a wall. Good posts also mean more reach for both your current followers and potential new ones. Once you decide how many times you want to post, create a plan of which types of content you will post throughout the week and what topic they will be about so you can use them as a checklist throughout the week.
Now that you have your plan in hand, you also need to decide which social media platforms your company will use. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, WhatsApp? As a business, you have to be where your customers are if you are going to get noticed. If your audience is primarily young adults, you may want to focus on Instagram and TikTok. If your audience is primarily professionals, you may want to focus on LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Step 6: Brainstorm what hashtags make sense for your business, and make a list as to which you will use depending on which product or service you are promoting.
People are normally 50/50 as to whether or not they feel hashtags are worth putting a ton of thought into on social media. Some people will argue that people don’t click or follow hashtags anymore. Other people would argue that it’s a good keyword tactic to use in your posts so the algorithm will show your post to people who engage with other posts with the same keyword. Our advice? Put them in! It won’t hurt, it will only increase your reach, which is the main goal with hashtags! And, if they don’t get you anything extra, they didn’t hurt you either. Just try not to go overboard. A good ol’ fashion brainstorm will help you and your team decide what hashtags make sense for your business. Once you’ve brainstormed narrow it down and make a cheatsheet list as to which you will use depending on which product or service you are promoting.
Step 7: Outline how much of each type of content you will post throughout the week based on how many times a week you plan to post.
Creating a content schedule is an important part of any social media strategy but, let’s not overlook the different types of posts and how they work. To determine how much of each type of content you should post throughout the week, you first need to understand the types of content that are available.
Examples:
- Promotional content: This type of content promotes your products or services, such as sales, discounts, or new product launches.
- Educational content: This type of content provides valuable information to your audience, such as how-to guides, tutorials, or industry news.
- Entertaining content: This type of content is designed to be fun and engaging, such as memes, videos, or behind-the-scenes content.
- Inspirational content: This type of content is designed to inspire or motivate your audience, such as quotes or success stories.
In addition to the content theme, you want to think about the actual post type in terms of the platform you are using. Will you post a story, a static image post, a video post, a reel, a text update?
Whatever you decide know that there is no wrong answer and you can adjust your plan as you find what works for you specifically. The goal is to create a balance between the different types of content, and the different types of posts so your audience remains engaged and interested in your brand.
Key takeaway: Failing to plan, is in itself, a plan to fail.
Step 8: Outline how and when you will reply to comments or questions and how you will engage with your audience.
Engaging with your customers on social media shows them that you care about their opinions and value their feedback and time being present. Taking the time to engage with your followers can build brand loyalty and trust, as customers are more likely to stick with a brand that they feel is listening to and addressing their concerns. Social media provides a platform for customers to voice their opinions, complaints, and concerns. Now you might think, ugh, I don’t want the trolls to leave me a bad review. But, what if you thought about it as an opportunity for your biggest fans to praise everything amazing that you and your team do? Engage with your customers, help address any issues in a timely and effective manner, and increase your customer satisfaction rating. We all know it costs more to find new customers than to keep the ones we have.
Key takeaway: It’s not just about posting – you have to be social too.
Step 9: Outline how you and when you will look at your analytics regularly so that you have benchmarks of what’s working and what’s not to guide you as your social media presence evolves.
By analyzing your social media analytics and user data, you can track your progress to determine how your social media efforts are doing over time. You’ll be able to see which posts and campaigns are resonating with your audience through trends in engagement, reach, and conversions. When you find something that gets a lot of reach or engagement post more content like that. Many businesses don’t spend enough time analyzing the data they have. It provides you with valuable insights into your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviour to help you create content that is tailored to your audience’s preferences to increase engagement and drive more conversions — both online and off. You’ll notice certain words gain you more interest, some products might sell better than others. What if you changed the placement of your most popular products in other areas of the store? Costco does this strategically to make you have to go down other aisles in their store to get what you want so you see other products you end up buying on impulse. When you intentionally review, analyze, look for trends etc. you increase your ROI over time.
Step 10: Call in an expert if you don’t have the time or know-how!
If you don’t have time or you’re not sure how to do it there is nothing wrong with asking for help. From coaching you through how to do things yourself, to giving your feedback on content, or even taking care of your social media for you entirely, we can help! You can count on us to highlight and promote your business, promotions, sales, services, and products while driving traffic from your social media pages to your website and everything in between. A consistent social media strategy can even boost your search engine rankings!
Does that spark your interest? Sign up for a free no-obligation consultation, or give us a call at 705-242-8964 and let’s talk about your roadblocks, your strategy, your content, and develop a plan to help you slay your social media goals this year.
