Social media marketing can either be a boon or a bane. If you do it right, the benefits can be unparalleled. Conversely, if you mess it up, it will seem a complete waste of time.
Wondering how to do it right?
Don’t worry.
While social media marketing is complex, it can give your good results if you can plan, execute, and evaluate the performance of your campaigns.
It’s All About Good Planning
One does not simply get a great marketing strategy. Before you dive into putting out content, here’s what you should do:
- Set your goals: This is the secret sauce for creating a winning strategy. Know what you intend to achieve at the end of your campaign. Every post, every caption, and every comment should serve some purpose.
- Establish KPIs: Associate your goal with measurable metrics that can help you track and optimize your campaign’s performance.
It is also a great time to evaluate the returns you got from your previous strategy and learn from past mistakes.
- Understand who your audience is: You aren’t leveraging social media marketing for the sake of growing a huge following.
Understanding your audience is critical if you want your social audience to turn into paying customers. So, don’t make assumptions and learn more about what your target audience likes and dislikes.
And Great Execution
Once you know what type of content to create and for whom, it’s time to move on to the next step. Getting your content to stand out is anything but easy. That being said, it isn’t impossible.
You should create and distribute content that can:
- Offer your audience a new perspective.
- Make them laugh.
- Solve their problems.
- Educate and inform them about relevant topics.
All in all, the key is to create content that is unique, yet relatable and valuable. Moreover, you should ensure that your content is visually appealing. It should be able to draw users’ attention and make them stop scrolling.
If you’re finding it difficult to create engaging content, consider partnering with an influencer. Most influencers have the skill, passion, and resources required to create top-notch content. In addition, they can expose your brand to huge followings at affordable costs.
Finally, Don’t Forget to Evaluate the Success of Your Strategy
Evaluating the success of a social media strategy is difficult. This is especially true when your goals aren’t easily quantifiable. That being said, it is very much possible if you set relevant KPIs right at the beginning.
Tracking your campaign performance consistently can tell you if you’re on the right track and help you identify what you may be doing wrong.
You can also leverage effective social media management platforms to plan and optimize your campaigns better. I’ve reviewed some of the best ones on my blog, ShaneBarker.com.
To learn more about ways to improve your social media marketing ROI, take a look at the infographic below.
Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is the co-founder of Attrock, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.