Creating and sustaining a social media presence can be a daunting task. As business owners, we need more time. We lead our business growth, build our team, and deliver excellent customer service. As part of growing our business, having a marketing strategy is crucial! However, sometimes we try to do it ourselves, which can take hours of our time, or work with service providers that don't understand our industry, which can be costly. I know; I went through it! Read on to learn critical steps to maximize your efforts in the new year!
When I launched my entrepreneurial journey as a CPA, I had yet to learn how to market. It was not something I learned in college. I had the hindsight that social media would be part of the marketing strategy, but I was unsure what to do.
I started creating and posting daily content that did not speak to anyone. While I spent hours creating content and posting them myself, I lost opportunities to serve prospective clients. So, I hired marketing professionals who I realized did not understand my specific area of work and could not write content to attract prospects.
I hired trainers to teach me how to get leads, but I did a lot of tech work I should not have been doing. Finally, I trained with a top marketing and sales trainer and figured out what I was missing. During this time, I started strategizing my marketing plan and decided which tools I would use to serve my time best.
A little planning, organization, and strategy are needed to establish and maintain a strong presence on social media. Here are some tips for creating and sustaining a social media presence.
1. Identify your target audience:
Assess who your customer is. Is it a business or an individual? Who are they, what do they look like, what is their age group, etc.? These questions will help you establish your client persona. In some cases, you may have different client personas so name each of them so you can create specific content that speaks to them.
2. Define your marketing goals:
Before you start posting on social media, consider what you want to achieve. Do you want to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or engage with your audience? Knowing your goals will help you create a plan and focus your efforts. Caution: Building your social media presence takes time, and it may help to create short-term and long-term goals.
3. Choose the right social media platforms:
It's essential to choose the right social media platforms for your business or personal brand. Look at which platforms your target audience is most active on and build a presence there. Each platform has its own algorithms and nuances. For example, if you are a B2B company, LinkedIn may be a more effective platform than Instagram. However, some young entrepreneurs are more engaged on Instagram and TikTok.
4. Write engaging and relevant content:
Think about what would your ideal client want to hear. What's the challenge that you are solving for them? Why should they contact you?
5. Create a social media calendar and plan your time:
As a leader and influencer, you must plan your time wisely. Ensure you’re committed to the time allocated to marketing. Planning out your content in advance will save you time in the long run. Create a content calendar outlining your posts on each platform and when. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you are consistently posting new content. You can use a tool like Google Calendar or a spreadsheet to schedule your posts for the week or month.
6. Utilize social media automation tools:
Many automation tools available can help you save time on social media. For example, you can schedule posts in advance using tools like Hootsuite or Buffer. This will allow you to spend less time posting and more time engaging with your followers.
7. Hire someone to help:
Your time is valuable, so delegate the basics, like researching platforms or hashtags, creating the social media calendar, or scheduling your posts. You can use your time for strategy and engaging your audience.
8. Engage with your audience:
Social media is a two-way conversation, so engaging with your followers is essential. Take the time to respond promptly to comments, answer questions, and share user-generated content. This will help build a strong community around your brand. Using polling questions, and starting a challenge get people excited, so use them to get engagement.
9. Learn about and use hashtags:
Hashtags can help you reach a wider audience and make it easier for people to discover your content. You can research popular hashtags in your industry and use them in your posts to increase your visibility. Always keep in mind your audience. Here is a great article to help you learn about the power of hashtags!
10. Monitor your analytics:
Use the analytics tools provided by each social media platform to track the performance of your posts and identify what is working and what isn't. This step will help you refine your strategy and optimize your content for maximum engagement. Most social media tools provide insight on what metrics mean and how to improve them.
Social Media presence is a must for any business nowadays. As a business owner, you need to promote your expertise to your target audience. With a little planning and organization, social media can be a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience; use it effectively to get the most benefit from it.