Social Media Success Strategy #1: Always Be Human
There’s nothing worse than a social media channel that looks like it’s being operated by an autobot. The key word is in the name – it is ‘social’ media, after all. Make sure that your interactions on are personable and genuine. Say hello to people in the morning, update them on your work day and share stories that will be of interest to your target audience. Yes, you should advertise your brand/product – but this is an essential part of doing that.
Customers (both existing and potential) want to know that when they are asking a question, complaining or praising, that a real person is on the other end interacting with them.
Your social media channels should always feel like they’re being operated by an interesting, intelligent, and funny human being. Be real.
Social Media Success Strategy #2: Separate The Channels
The first mistake social media marketers make, is assuming that every social media channel they operate is the same. How many times have you seen an account duplicate their content across Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest?
Every social media channel has a different demand and the user base on each channel demands custom content. Instagram needs quickly digested visual content. Twitter needs brief content that can be consumed on the timeline and garner a click-through. Facebook needs fluffier, friendlier content. LinkedIn needs sharp and business focused content.
By separating your content into the appropriate channels, you can cater to all of your potential customers expectations.
Social Media Success Strategy #3: Focus On The Clients
If your social media strategy doesn’t focus on converting followers into brand ambassadors (or at the very least, not brand detractors), you desperately need to refocus. You need to make customer interaction a priority.
In order to run a successful social media channel, not one single customer comment – good or bad – can be left unanswered. Think of the times when you’ve messaged a company on Twitter, only to find that your comment ignored for days – or simply never answered at all. How did you feel about that company afterwards? Exactly.
Ideally, your strategy should involve a ‘first responder’. This individual is responsible for making sure every question gets answered within the day, fixed if possible, and escalated if necessary. If this first responder has a library of quick fixes to quickly solve problems – that’s even better.
Remember, always treat your social media channels as an opportunity to display how fantastically you treat your customers.
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Social Media Success Strategy #4: Crunching The Numbers
Sorting through reams of analytical data isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a crucial social media strategy. Assign a regular day at the end of every month to focus on the actual numbers behind your social media campaign and measure your success.
You need to keep a keen eye on your post numbers, your follower growth or decline, the number of click throughs you’re getting to your site/products, your page views, your likes/shares and impressions.
If you’re not the best at finding this raw data on your own, there’s a lot software out there that can help your track data and many of them are free. There are a ton of sites like bit.ly, Google Analytics, and Buffer that allow you to see which content received the most clicks and shares.
When you’re analyzing, look for any common themes and then expand on any success. Are your business articles on LinkedIn providing a lot of traffic? Make more of them. Crunching the numbers capitalizes on success.
Social Media Success Strategy #5: Scout The Competition
Before entering any marketplace, a clever business person will scope out their competitors. A successful social media campaign does the exact same and for the same reasons. When you take time to check out your competitors, you can assess what’s working for them – and what isn’t working for them. You can then use their successes (or failures) as a template for your own campaigns.
Paying close attention to your competitors social media channels will give you a headstart with your own social media campaign strategy.
Social Media Success Strategy #6: Coordinate Your Team
A successful social media strategy requires a lot of coordination from your company and it’s important to have a system in place. Initially, you might think that one person can do it all, but in reality that’s not usually the case. If you have the resources available, you should have staff working on content creation, content strategy, client interaction, and brand persona management. Once you have clearly defined the role of each staff member and their contribution to the campaign, you can ensure that everyone is working towards the same objectives.
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Social Media Success Strategy #7: Your Strategy Needs A Content Strategy
It’s not enough to just go out there and wing it when it comes to content. A successful campaign takes a lot of thought and tactical awareness, so getting a good content strategy in place is essential. You should start with a content calendar – and there’s a great free template from Hubspot which you can download here. You can use your content calendar to identify the times and type of media you need created for each channel, such as images, blog posts, infographics, video, and long form technical pieces.
Your social media campaign must have a set strategy for executing and distributing your content. Set a limit on how many tweets you have to publish per day; having these limits and standards in place will make sure you have a consistent plan for your channels.