The Social Blend - Recipe for the Perfect Social Media Strategy

Do you every wonder what distinguishe

s a successful social media page from an unsuccessful one? Strategy! An effective social media strategy helps you ensure that your social media efforts with be productive and help you reach your target audience and meet your goals. Strategy is essential in maintaining consistency and keeping content relevant to your audience. Putting the work in on your social strategy will make your life easier down the road, so let’s break down the recipe for the perfect social media strategy.

1. Audit your social media channels

Before you start to craft your strategy, you need to know what you’re starting with! Not only does auditing your social media help you to establish your strengths and weaknesses, but it also gives you a great way to measure your growth. An effective social media audit will show you what’s working, what isn’t, and what you should focus on going forward to make the most out of your social channels!

2. Define your goals

Once you have audited your social channels, you should take this information and create SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound) for your social channels. Some examples of goals are boosting engagement, driving website traffic, or increasing brand awareness. To read more about how to measure these goals, check out this blog post.

3. Identify your target audience

Defining your audience is so important in successful social strategy. If you want to speak to your audience, you must know who they are. A great way to do this is by creating target personas. Target personas are more detailed than the broad target audience and allow you to get in the weed about how you are really marketing to.

4. Choose your platforms

Now it’s time to choose your platforms! Go back to your target personas and think “Where would this person live on social media?” If you are targeting young women ages 18-14, Instagram and Tik Tok are the money makers, but if you are targeting men ages 40-60, LinkedIn and Facebook are the place to be. Establishing the correct platforms to reach your target audience and achieve your goals will allow your social team to put their energy into the places that matter most!

5. Check out your competitors

Just like you did in step 1, it’s time to audit your competitors’ social channels. It is important to remember that you will never get anywhere by copying your competitors. Why would a consumer buy from you if you are copying a brand they already trust and can go to easily? The purpose of this competitive analysis is to get you started on the right foot and see what the market is missing.

6. Identify your “edge”

Lastly, you should establish your edge. What makes you different? Why should consumers follow your social channels? What value do you provide? Answer those questions, prep your content, and get posting!