To the newbies, social media marketing may sound simple. You create a social media account for your company on a platform, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. You then create a social media post; publish it, and there you have it; the traffic will come rolling in!
That is, until they try it; the perception then changes.
For those, who have already tried their hands on social media marketing—for them (some and not all)—social media marketing is just a shrug of shoulders. It’s a waste of time and resources, as it simply does not “cater” to the industry that they are operating in.
That is, until someone else from the same industry nails it; the perception then changes.
In both the cases, the social media marketing lacks a plan, a strategy—THAT works!
How to make a social media tactical plan that increase brand awareness and increase conversions?
Step #1: Understand where your target audience is
You cater to a niche. You create content and market your product and services to that niche.
But, on which social media channel are you most likely to find your niche?
This knowledge comes with understanding your target audience. There are plenty of social media sites out there. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram—and what not. However, your niche is not likely to be found on all these networks.
For instance, if you are marketing to the Gen X cohort – Facebook is where you are most likely to find them. They do not prefer using Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
This would help you in selecting a platform, ideal for executing your
.
Step #2: Set the goals that you want to achieve through your social media marketing plan
Your social media marketing plan can focus on achieving a single goal or it can be built around achieving multiple goals. The goal (s) could be: to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, improve public relations, build social advocates – and/or boost traffic conversion rates.
What do you want to achieve through your social media marketing efforts?
This would help you to create social media content that addresses your selected goals.
Step #3: Understand how your target audience likes to engage on the social media platform
You have selected a social media platform. You have set the goals that you want to achieve through your social media marketing efforts. The next step is understanding the engagement pattern of your target audience.
How does your target audience interacts on a social media platform?
Are they more interested in sharing and reading blog posts promoted on your social media account, or is it the infographics that they prefer? Do they like to engage with posts that are stats-driven or do they like to engage with survey based posts? Can you find some keywords in their replies that they use most commonly when engaging with your social media account?
This would help you to select a format for your social media content, and word it appropriately.
Step #4: Understand when your target audience likes to engage on the social media platform
You may know the ideal social media platform to run your social media marketing campaign. You may know what you want to achieve through it. You may know how to create social media content that has the potential to go viral. But, that’s not enough.
When are you most likely to find your target audience online, so that your published social media posts receive innumerable views, reads and engagements?
Is it in the early hours of the morning? Is it during lunch time? Is it at night… exactly when?
This knowledge would help you to establish maximum engagement and drive maximum activity on your social media account.
Work out the details through these 4 steps, and leveraging the acquired knowledge create a social media marketing plan that works!
What Else?
If you have any other questions or want to know more about social media marketing tactics, the blog resources at Manal Haddad can help. Business leaders can find tips and advice on increasing conversions using social media, enabling them to generate high quality leads and sales-qualified leads.
