Ah, social media. Love it or hate it; it is a crucial part of our business. Whether you are starting a new business or are looking to give your social media plan a refresh, you most likely have had some kinds of experience on social media.
During your time on social media, you have probably noticed how some brands come right out of the gate and charge to Instagram superstar with massive followings and engagement, while others seem to have been struggling for years with a minimal audience and little to no engagement.
So what separates the two?
Under it all and between all of the algorithms and trends, being successful on any social media channel is really about your ability to create relationships with your audience or your followers. To grow on any social media channel, you need to have a few things in place, all of which should focus on creating a clear and consistent brand message and a connection with your audience.
Let’s take a look at what successful people do on social media:
- They focus their posts on their audience. What they want, need, and tries to solve these problems or guide them with their products or services
- They are highly interactive. They answer every comment on their posts, and they also comment frequently on posts that are in their feed.
- They share their lives and experiences rather than continually selling and promoting.
- They focus their efforts on the social media platforms that they have the most success on instead of spreading attention to thin on too many platforms
Notice a common thread in these characteristics? That’s right. All of these behaviors increase the connection between business owner and customer. Now that we know what works best on social media let’s look at how you can adjust or create your social media plan to connect with your audience and customers.
The following steps will help you create the most effective social media plan for your business.
1. Start by looking at all of your social media platforms. Where do you have the most engagement?
Is your Instagram struggling to get more than a few likes per post with little to no engagement in the comments? If so, take a look at what you are posting.
Try to adjust your content plan according to the things successful social media folks do that are listed above.
After a month, if you still hear crickets, it might be time to consider if this particular platform is really worth your time and effort, or could your time be spent more effectively somewhere else?
2. Another thing to consider when you are choosing where to focus your energy on social media is to look at which channels are best for what types of things.
Facebook is excellent for connecting with other solopreneurs or small business owners.
Linkedin is your best bet for connecting and reaching people in the professional world.
Instagram is great for visual-centric businesses.
You’ll always want to think about what platforms you enjoy using the most. If you like spending time on a specific social media site, you will be more likely to share and engage with your audience there organically.
3. Once you have decided on what platforms you want to focus your social media plan on it’s time to develop a content strategy.
Start by thinking about your audience.
Next, create a content calendar where you will share something that will help them in different ways on different days.
There are many different ways to create a content calendar for your business.
Choose one that works for you, but make sure you do have a plan and write it down. Having a plan will save you hours of sitting around stressing out what to post next.
4. Here’s one that gets buried under all the science and planning- Be Social! Interacting and engaging with your audience is crucial to creating a connection with your followers.
Share things from your personal life: tips, hobbies, travel experience, your new favorite recipe, Netflix series, course, or book. And don’t forget to ask your customers about their thoughts on things as well. What do their personal lives look like?
Once you implement these things in your social media plan, you will start to see changes happening in your business. Creating a clear and consistent brand message, along with encouraging interaction and engagement with your audience is what will convert followers into customers.
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