Tag: Social Media Strategy

Shaking Up Your Social Media Strategy for the New Quarter

Happy Spring, unicorns! Here’s hoping that your social media marketing efforts in 2023 exceed all your expectations!

 

With that in mind, here are our best recommendations for shaking up your social media marketing strategy for the rest of the year.

 

Freshen Up Your Templates

 

Even the most loyal brand advocates are likely to get bored with your content if you never change it up. This year is an excellent opportunity to freshen up your brand templates, newsletter template, review your favorite hashtags, and create creative new ways to grab attention and connect with your audience. You don’t want to change things so drastically that your audience doesn’t recognize you anymore, but some new touches, learning new skills, and designing new creative approaches may be just the thing to improve your reach and encourage more engagement.

 

Use Your Data

 

Perhaps you’ve finally put together a social media and content strategy and you are posting consistently now. You are seeing some successes but you are wondering how to reach more people? This is a great time to use that friend available to all social media business accounts – your analytics! The new year is a great time to dig into what the numbers are telling you. This will help you uncover which platforms or channels are doing better than others, what time(s) of day you get the most engagement, what types of posts spark the most interest, and any possible gaps or opportunities you could be missing.

 

Social Video

 

Video is one of those amazing resources that can showcase your brand personality, but also authentically show your audience who you are. The emotions behind your eyes, your emotions regarding a topic, the fun culture you have in your business – these are all the personal touches that followers crave in a social brand.. Whether pre-recorded or Live Video, your audience will get a feel for who you really are as a business.

 

Today, there are more opportunities than ever to get started with video on social media. Whether it’s YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Podcasts or Facebook Watch – there is no shortage of possibilities for those looking to get into video marketing this year.

 

Anyone can build a Social Media Page, but do they know how to build it correctly with the right social media marketing story and strategy for business, the right keywords and really target your ideal client?  We build brands, write searchable copy for your profiles and develop strategies to expand your reach and build relationships using solid Social Media Marketing techniques.  Since 2008, our team has provided support to clients Nationwide in online marketing. Find out more at our website.

 

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook,  Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

Is it Time to Get Serious About Your Social Media Strategy?

I’ve been in the social media marketing game for a long time (approaching two decades at this point), so few know better than I the potential that exists for small businesses who want to market their work on social media. However, many businesses don’t have a social media marketing strategy at all. They post something when they have an idea, or when they remember to do so, but it’s not a priority and it’s, most likely, not effective.

A social media strategy requires putting thought and planning to what, where, and when you plan to post and what content you want to create.

If you are ready to finally get serious about your social media marketing, here’s what I want you to do:

Keep the end in mind.

Just like an author writing a book, you are going to see more results when you start with the end in mind. What do you want to get out of social media marketing? What results would you consider a success? What do you want your followers to do once they’ve seen your posts?

Too many business owners don’t have a plan. Even if you suddenly did have an audience’s attention, what would you do with it? Where do you want them to go? What do you want them to do? Don’t just assume they will figure it out on their own.

If you want to sign up 10 new clients a month, then your posts will be crafted around that end goal. If you want to grow your email list so you can market directly to your people when you launch something new, then your strategy is to provide enough value to convince people they want to sign up and then encourage them to do so by directing social media traffic to your sign-up list.

Suggestions:

  • Sign up for your email newsletter (marketing).
  • Visit your website for more information on your products & services (sales).
  • Sign up for your webinar, course, or in-person event (sales).
  • Engage with the post by asking them an interesting question and starting a conversation (encourages more social media engagement).
  • Tell a friend or write a testimonial (marketing).

There are many options to explore, but first you need to know your social media marketing goals and what you need your audience to do so you can encourage them to respond and react.

Who are you looking for?

In order to connect with people online, you need to understand who you are talking to. You can’t simply talk to the void and hope it will respond. If you want your content and posts to resonate with an audience, you need to know stuff about them. Therefore, you can’t be random here. You have to identify and define your target audience. Don’t be afraid to weed out people during this process, with no target audience – you weren’t really reaching them anyway. However, if you understand your ideal clients – their motivations, inspirations, aspirations, goals – then you can create posts that actually resonate. They will want to engage and come back for more!

Know your resources.

Understand that your resources are limited. If you are taking on all the social media work solo, there is only so much time and energy in a day. Schedule time for your social media management or you’ll keep finding reasons why you can’t get to it. Consistency is important. Your audience won’t believe in you if you struggle to show up.

The fewer the resources, the less you’ll be able to accomplish. If it’s just you and 2 hours a month, don’t try to be on six different platforms. You’ll burn out and your content really won’t be that good.

What other resources do you have available? Can you invest in a social media scheduler? Got a family member who would love to help out? Do you have time to learn new software? Got room in your budget to hire a social media team?

Your social media strategy will be dependent upon what sort of resources you have available to get the work done.

***** Is it becoming more difficult to create content for your small business to use in social media? Is there just not enough time in the day to be as consistent and present as you’d like to be online? The Social Media Advisor team can create a custom editorial calendar for your posts, create messaging and images that are aligned with your brand and culture, and schedule posts so you can take social media marketing off your very busy plate. Hire us to do the work so you don’t have to. *****

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

 

How Often Should You Post on Social Media in 2022?

Before we get into statistics and trends, it’s important to note that there is no one size fits all plan when it comes to social media marketing. The best thing for a business to do is to actually test various times and monitor their analytics to get insights on when their audience is active and responsive online.

That being said, we all need to start somewhere, right? And you are here because you have questions. So, let’s get into how often you should post on social media in 2022:

Facebook

When we work with Facebook marketing clients, we recommend doing at least 3 posts per week. This is the bare minimum. If you can, it’s recommended to do 2 posts per day on Facebook (spaced out – try morning and afternoon or afternoon and evening).

According to Sprout Social’s recent report, Saturday is the worst day of the week for engagement on Facebook.

Instagram

If you’ve got great visuals, photos, and videos – the best time to post them on Instagram is Monday-Friday between 10 am and 12 pm. So, post at least 1x a day during this time frame during the week. You want to make the algorithm work for you by being consistent and posting daily but also giving each post room to be seen by not batching posts close together.

LinkedIn

The LinkedIn audience is slightly different. These are professionals. They aren’t spending all day scrolling social media. However, to stay top of mind for when those pros do go onto the platform to get caught up, you’ll need to ensure you are posting at least 1x a day. Should you post on the weekend? Well, not every professional has Saturday and Sunday off… so, test it out and see if there is a difference in engagement and reach on the weekends.

Twitter

Twitter isn’t for every brand. It is a fast-moving, news-focused, written platform that is ripe for negative interactions and trolls. However, if you love the fast pace, are in an industry that’s relevant for current events/news, or love creating and sharing written content – then Twitter could be for you.

However, to stay relevant on this platform, you need to post a lot… like A LOT. Twitter users recommend 10-15 posts per day. You’ll want to space them out so more of them get seen… don’t just post 10 tweets in a row. Also, learn how to create Twitter threads and definitely spend time commenting, joining conversations, and re-tweeting other posts as well.

TikTok

We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Not all businesses are comfortable with video, so you won’t all be a good fit for this platform. However, those who remember the golden days of organic social media reach should know that it’s still alive and well, if only on TikTok right now.

According to SocialPilot’s review of the app, the best times to post on TikTok are Tuesday through Friday either early in the morning (6am to 10am) or late at night (7pm to 11pm). To capitalize on this, schedule your videos during these time frames. Do 1-2 videos a day for a few weeks and then measure your results to decide whether or not this type of marketing is for you.

There is an argument to be made about whether or not TikTok is mostly for entertainment or is a good place for promotion. If this platform intrigues you, you already use it for your own entertainment, and you want a chance to get in front of more people in an organic way – then test it out. See if it makes an impact with your small business.

***** Is it becoming more difficult to create content for your small business to use in social media? Is there just not enough time in the day to be as consistent and present as you’d like to be online? The Social Media Advisor team can create a custom editorial calendar for your posts, create messaging and images that are aligned with your brand and culture, and schedule posts so you can take social media marketing off your very busy plate. Hire us to do the work so you don’t have to. *****

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

 

What Are Your Social Media Marketing Expectations?

Obviously, I have lots of conversations with small business owners about social media marketing. It’s my favorite subject to talk about even! One of the things I’ve noticed over the years, from both conversation and working with people, is that their expectations regarding social media for their business often don’t match the reality of implementing social media into their marketing.

While there are many examples, these three expectations I find the most common (and most important) conversations to have when considering social media marketing (and in hiring a social media manager).

Posting = Sales

If this were ever true, it was only realistic during the early days of Facebook. I have my doubts about how viable it was even then. People are not scrolling social media for the opportunity to spend money with you. That’s not why people use these apps. Understanding the motivation behind why users download and use each platform is key to getting to know your audience.

Can small businesses make money by building a social media strategy and showing up consistently? Absolutely. However, it’s not as simple as posting a sale and then getting back to work. Social media is meant to be social. Your customers are following you for the chance to connect with you – to have a direct line to the individual behind the brand. A post it and forget it strategy will be obvious to your audience, and they’ll move on to another influencer or business who is serious about building a relationship with their people instead.

Going Viral

Many on social media are seeking the elusive goal of going viral. Why? Because it’s a numbers game. More people seeing and engaging with your posts means more opportunity to convert strangers into buyers, right?

I’ve had the opportunity to see a couple of viral posts with my clients in the time I’ve been a social media manager. While those posts got a lot of attention, what they didn’t do was convert into sales. Why? Because being viral is for entertainment. Unless you are in the media or entertainment business, going viral on one post is not going to be enough to find and create loyal brand advocates who are going to want to do business with you. You know what works instead? Genuine concern and connection with the people who want to like, follow, comment, and share your posts.

Marketing is Free

Boy, have we really gotten carried away with the idea that marketing our businesses shouldn’t cost us any money. Before social media, or even the Internet, the only way to get in front of an audience was to pay for a newspaper, radio, yellow pages, or TV ad. There wasn’t much personalization happening since these ads were for the general public but there also weren’t many (if any) opportunities to get in front of people for businesses with no marketing budget.

As more people embrace social media, and the user base increases, we are seeing a saturated market online and it’s getting harder to get in front of the people we want to see and engage with our business. Business owners are going to have to get comfortable with the idea that to really gain traction in their marketing, they are going to need to invest in it. There are so many opportunities today to market a business – networking, affiliate marketing, sponsorships, speaking, advertising,

***** Is it becoming more difficult to create content for your small business to use in social media? Is there just not enough time in the day to be as consistent and present as you’d like to be online? The Social Media Advisor team can create a custom editorial calendar for your posts, create messaging and images that are aligned with your brand and culture, and schedule posts so you can take social media marketing off your very busy plate. Hire us to do the work so you don’t have to. *****

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and the tools to manage them.

Click here for Social Media Training, Speaking and Strategy Consultations.

 

Learn how to use social media to grow your business online with our video series!

  • Learn the fundamentals of social media
  • Learn how to build better brand engagement
  • Learn how to enhance your visitors' experience
  • Learn how to grow your business using social media strategies.

If you want someone to break down aspects of social media to get more clients and build your business using social media, this is the program for you.

Start Learning Today!

Follow me

Categories

Latest Articles

©2008-2023 Clere Communications / The Social Media Advisor