You already know you need quality content for your social media marketing. But it can’t be a spur-of-the-moment thing. Remember the old adage: those who fail to plan plan to fail. We want to take out the guesswork. Here’s how we suggest you plan your social media content.
Step One: Know your customer.
In order to make sure your social media content plan is effective (and worth your time), you need to know who your customer is. Not just their demographic data, but who they are as a person. If your brand is going to earn their trust, you need to create relatable content.
That means information like where they live, their family and marital status should influence the type and tone of content you use on social media. Another way to look at it is, what experiences do people like those in my target market enjoy? And how can my brand recreate or cultivate such experiences? Or, what problems might they have, and how can my brand solve them.
Step Two: Go on a journey.
Now that you have a clear picture of who your ideal customer is, you need to recreate their buyer journey. Are they decisive, or do they visit a website several times before buying? Are they more likely to buy a downloadable template or a video coaching session? What gets them “unstuck” and convinces them to buy?
You can gather this information a number of ways: site/email analytics, polling your email/social media audience or doing market research about people who most resemble your ideal customer.
Step Three: Know your goals (and how you’ll measure them).
You’ll need to set clear, measurable goals for your social media marketing plan. Here are some example metrics you can use:
- Number of Facebook group members
- Number of likes/comments/shares
- Views of live streams
- Questions from your social media group (Look for people asking about things your products or services can solve; they will be likely to engage with your brand outside of social media.
You can also use analytics, either through social media platforms themselves or third-party apps, to track your progress.
PRO TIP: Include deadlines/timelines with your goals, and plan out your content with a spreadsheet/calendar.
Step Four: Pick the right site.
You may not need a presence on every social media site. Social media sites tend to differ in areas like:
- Demographics of most active users
- Use of pictures/video (more than text-rich content)
- Use of text-rich content (more than pictures or video)
- Brand identity of dominant brands or figures on the sites
Step Five: Find a Balance.
Now you know your audience, your primary sites, your goals, you can start creating your content. We suggest striking a balance between a variety of content types: long-form content, short-form content, photos, videos, etc. And don’t forget to be creative and keep it fun.
Still unsure how to plan your social media content? Give us a call and we’ll be happy to help!
