What does it really mean to “win” on social media? Entrepreneurs and business owners of all sorts can often relate to one (of many) needs: They need to know that the time and money they’re investing in social media marketing is worthwhile. Winning on social media will look different for every brand, however, there are a few fundamentals that ring true across the whole world of social media marketing and all its platforms. If your social media strategy accomplishes these five things, then the money and “wins” will follow.
1. It adds value to followers’ lives
A business owner is well aware of the tremendous value his or her product or service brings to its customers. Your social media presence needs to not only reflect that but do the same.
People tend to seek one or more of these qualities in social media content: Education, entertainment, or inspiration. Which one of these does your business accomplish the most?
Depending on what your brand is all about, it can be possible to create content that has a balance of all three of these qualities.
Consider diversifying your page with these types of posts:
Educational:
- Carousels that break down information
- Long-form captions listing out important facts your audience needs to know
- Reels and videos showing how-to’s
- Infographics to break down your complex data
- Statistics that matter to your audience
- News updates that affect your audience
Entertaining:
- Memes…everyone loves a good meme (and loves to share them)
- Bright, beautiful imagery
- Eye-catching graphics
- Reels and videos
- Humor and lightheartedness
Inspirational:
- Mentioning your customers’ most common pain points
- Quotes
- Interviews and features of impactful people in your industry
People will only follow a page if they believe they will get something out of your content. So don’t let your followers down, continue to deliver them value and they will turn into customers.
2. It is designed with a long-term strategy in mind
Marketers understand that social media plays a major role in building a brand. Growing an effective social media presence takes time, commitment, and patience. Social media plays a crucial role in the long-term success of your business and how potential customers perceive your brand.
We often encourage our clients to think about how they want social media to play a role in their overall marketing strategy. With other moving parts such as email marketing, blogs, networking, and more, we want to design a social media presence that aligns with and maximizes all marketing efforts.
Some of the long-term strategy questions we ask business owners to help them gain clarity on this are:
- What is the primary action you want your social media followers to take? (Schedule a meeting with you, sign up for a webinar, fill out a form/landing page, etc.)
- What value do you want your followers to get from your page?
- If your friends/colleagues were talking about your business, what would you want them to say?
- Are there any social media profiles or influencers of whom’s online presence you admire or like to follow? What do you like about their profiles?
- Which of these common goals aligns with your intention for social media?
- Increasing brand awareness
- Penetrating a new market
- Growing an existing audience
- Maintaining an active presence
- Driving traffic to the website
- Growing revenue/sales
- Effective customer service
- Increase mentions in the press
- Generate leads
- Become an influencer
- Take a specific, desired action
To track performance, marketers can set monthly goals for what they want to see happening on their social media. At Backcourt Marketing, we typically prioritize engagement as a key metric to consistently move in an upward direction. Engagement tells us that your content is resonating with your target audience.
3. It focuses on quality, not quantity
Let’s remind ourselves of one thing: the amount of followers you have is not indicative of how well your business is performing. That’s right, if your followers aren’t engaging with your content or taking action on your posts, their value as a follower is low.
On the same level, posting more frequently isn’t always going to be the answer if your posts aren’t working for you.
Posts that will do your business a favor will typically fit these requirements:
- They include a call to action, giving followers clear instructions on what to do next.
- They include clear, eye-catching imagery or simple designs that match your brand.
- They add value for your audience.
You might be asking, at what point do we get to share content about sales and promotions or truly bring followers home to make a purchase? We like to follow what’s called the 80/20 rule of thumb, which advises that 80% of your content be value-adding and 20% be promotional. Of course, we want you to share your promotions and run campaigns to drive customers. The key is simply finding balance so that your followers don’t feel spammed, and of course, having fun with it.
4. It’s authentic
Consumers of today can recognize an inauthentic brand much more clearly than they used to. Companies come under fire for a number of reasons and it gets harder for a business to heal a bad reputation.
This is another reason why “relatable” content isn’t just a trend, but a theme that’s here to stay. Memes and humor posts get extra reach because of this. Followers need to resonate with your brand, so when you write up your captions and create your messaging, always be speaking to your audience, reflecting on what they like and need, and even touching upon what they hate.
A brand needs to effectively communicate the individual or organization’s uniqueness to appeal to the target audience. The message needs to be clear and motivate customers to like you. For your personal brand, consider sharing on a quarterly basis a “re-introduction” post, including a headshot of yourself and a reminder of what you’re here for, who you work with, and why. We promise you, the more photos of yourself you can share, the more engagement you will receive.
5. It’s consistent
Not all your social media followers are customers, and not all your customers are followers. But, it’s essential to treat your followers like customers. What do your customers expect from you?
Whether you’re showing up once a month or daily, your social media presence needs to paint the picture of what customers will get out of working with you or buying from you. You don’t need to bombard your followers with content, but you do need to plan it out in advance and be intentional about it. This will also save you from scrambling to get a holiday post up before the day ends.
When deciding on an optimal posting schedule, consider a few things:
- When is your target audience most active on social media?
- How many content themes are you trying to communicate?
- What holidays are relevant to your business?
- What fits into your schedule?
Finally, we’ve all heard a product needs to make at least eight touchpoints with a prospective customer before that customer buys. On social media, it can be many more than that. And that is exactly why showing up regularly matters.
To work with a team that will build you a winning social media presence, start with a free mini-marketing audit with Backcourt Marketing today.