Social media is an important part of any effective inbound marketing strategy, and planning ahead is the best way to leverage the power of social media. A good way to plan your content ahead of time is by creating a social media calendar by using a digital calendar, interactive dashboard or spreadsheet. Things to track on your social media calendar include where content will be posted, the date and time it will go live and what graphics, copy and links will be included.
Auditing Social Media Channels
Do you know what’s currently working and what’s not for your brand on social media? Spend some time assessing your social media presence and how much engagement you’re getting. What platforms are you currently using? Take a look at the profiles that have been set up for your business on different social media platforms, even if you haven’t been active on them lately.
Record the number of followers you have on each channel and metrics related to engagement, which comes from built-in analytics on each channel. Look for clues on the interests of your target audience. Identify the top-performing posts on each platform and think about what made them successful.
Another thing to look at is the social media accounts of your competitors. Review the type of content they’re posting and how often they’re posting. What posts are drawing the most engagement?
Choosing Your Platform
After your social media audit, you should have a better idea what channels are likely to be most effective in targeting your audience. Do some market research to identify the most popular platforms for the people you’re trying to reach. Consider whether your best option is to focus exclusively on one platform or to post content on multiple platforms. Targeting multiple platforms means you need to take the time to create and manage multiple posts.
Members of Gen Z are most often found on TikTok and Instagram. YouTube is a good choice for targeting Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z. If you’re targeting Baby Boomers, you’re not likely to find many people over 50 on Snapchat and you might do better on Facebook. LinkedIn is a solid choice for targeting a business-focused audience.
Planning Your Content
Once you’ve chosen your best platform or platforms, consider your budget and your team members to determine how much top quality content you can produce regularly. Content planning can help you to produce content in batches. You’re likely to get the best results from creating a variety of content. Text content is important, but also include infographics, videos, and live streams. Keep your audience interested by mixing up your content types.
Organize your content ahead of time using a social media calendar. Besides planning the date and time it will be published, keep track of links and platform image sizes. Color coding is a good way to help decisions show up at a glance. Use a different color for blog posts, ebooks, webinars, product launches, etc.
Your social media calendar will be a work in process as you see what’s most effective in your content planning. For expert help growing your online presence, reach out to Softline Solutions.
