It’s a new year and your small business may be thinking about setting new social media goals or creating a new social media strategy. But where do you start, especially if you’re a solo-preneur or the one-man/one-woman social media team in your small business?
Time is money, as the saying goes, and small business owners need to be smart about maximizing their time on social media.
In January 2014, I shared 7 social media strategies to start off the new year, and while I believe they are still relevant as we begin 2015, I’m adding 7 new tips in today’s post.
As I mentioned last year, a smart strategy starts with answers to some important questions:
Who: is your target audience?
As the social media scene becomes even more populated, and the number of posts, Tweets, or videos an average user is exposed to grows by leaps and bounds, you need to make sure your content is being seen by the right people.
So clearly define your target audience.
What: will you share online?
A an editorial calendar, along with a promotional calendar are two must-haves in your social media strategy. Don’t waste time sharing photos of your lunch unless those photos offer something valuable to your audience.
Where: does your target audience spend time?
It may be necessary for your business to have profiles on more than one social media site; but do some research. If your ideal client spends more time on Pinterest, then that’s where you should spend the majority of your time and effort.
When: will you be active on social media?
Set up a consistent schedule that is realistic for your situation and business. You’ll read all kinds of advice on how often to post on Facebook: twice a day, ten times a day, three times a week…but every business (and audience) is different. So test your posting schedule and then plan accordingly.
Why: do you want to create an account on a specific site?
Setting specific goals for each social site means you can measure success in a more effective way. Maybe your goal on Facebook is branding: getting your name out there. On Twitter, your goal may be to send targeted users to a landing page for a free offer (to build your email list). Or maybe your Pinterest account’s main purpose is to sell items from your online store (by using Rich Pins and Promoted Pins to drive traffic to your store).
Once you’ve answered these questions it’s time to create your strategy.
Here are 7 tips for creating (or updating) your social media strategy in 2015:
#1: Share and create content that is helpful or useful to your target audience.
We’ve been overwhelmed with cute cat videos, bait-and-switch headlines, and shock-factor photos. And your target audience is probably as annoyed with them as you are.
Your business content should be something that helps your target audience solve a problem or eliminate a pain point. Occasional cute cat videos or humorous posts are fine, but your long-term content marketing goal should be to become a source of value to your community.
#2: Post content consistently.
Maybe you tried 3 new social sites last year, and found out that 2 of them were too much work to maintain. If you’ve left those 2 sites sitting there with no updates in the past 6 months, you may be doing much more harm to your brand than you realize.
A Facebook Page that hasn’t been updated since 2012 is not going to impress anyone. So if you set up a social media account, make sure you have a plan in place to update it consistently.
#3: Get rid of empty, outdated social media accounts.
If you’ve set up an account that no longer works for your business, it may be best to delete it rather than let it sit there “empty”. Review all of your accounts and decide which ones are the most important to your overall strategy.
Not every social media site works for every business and you may not have the time or staff to maintain more than 1-2 sites.
#4: Share your original content more than once.
I’ve talked about re-purposing your blog content before and recommend you make this a vital part of your content strategy.
As social sites become even busier places than they already are, there is a greater chance that most users will not see your content the first time you share it (unless you use paid promotions).
So it makes sense to share your content more than once (especially on Twitter, where I’d recommend sharing a new blog post 3-4 times over 2-3 days) or to re-purpose your content (blog posts also become videos, Infographics, a series of Tweets, etc.).
#5: Frame your promotional posts as benefits to your target audience.
You may have heard that Facebook is cracking down on promotional (un-paid) posts, and in general, people will tune out pushy, sales posts if that’s all you share online. But when you do share the occasional post about your products/services, focus on the benefits your target audience receives.
It’s not how great your product is; it’s what great thing your product does to help your customers.
[tweetthis]It’s not how great your product is; it’s what great thing your product does to help customers.[/tweetthis]
#6: Respond to users on your social sites.
People expect businesses to respond on social media, so make sure you have a system in place to monitor your social sites so you can respond in a timely manner.
Set up notifications, Google Alerts, TalkWalker Alerts, Search terms/phrases in Hootsuite or another dashboard…there are a variety of tools available to help you monitor your sites. Put these tools in place, make it a priority to check them daily, and then respond accordingly.
#7: Set a budget for social media.
You’ve probably heard from many people that Facebook is now “pay-to-play”; Twitter has promoted Tweets, Google+ Pages can create Ads, Pinterest has opened up Promoted Pins to all users…it makes sense to have a budget for social media spend in 2015 (if you’ve never had one before).
Even if you’re not using Ads on each social site, you may decide to outsource your graphics, get help managing your account(s), or pay for a dashboard/App.
And if you decide to do it all yourself, factor in the cost of your time…something else has to give if you decide to put more time into managing your social media accounts on your own.
If you want to review my strategy tips from 2014’s new year’s post, click here to see them.
And if you have questions or need help in setting (or reviewing) your 2015 social media goals, we’d be happy to help!
About Terry League