4 Keys to Make Social Media Marketing a Strategic Approach

It should come as no surprise that 97% of marketers use social media. They do so because it works.

Social media marketing, however, involves much more than simply posting updates.

If you don’t have a strategic social media marketing plan in place, you’ll be one of many who throw their time, money, and sanity into the black hole that social media can become.

Learning how to effectively manage a social media campaign will help you maximize your ROI, build a strong brand presence and recruit and retain loyal followers.

Let’s take a look at the 4 keys to social media marketing success.

1) Value Data

It all starts and ends with data. Before you implement anything, collect the data around which you’ll build your strategy.

Ask yourself: What do I already know that will allow me to develop an effective strategy?

Pull and analyze data to determine:

What’s worked or hasn’t worked in the past
Customer buying habits
Industry trends
What the competition is doing

While data shapes your initial strategy, it also plays an instrumental role in how your strategy develops. You’ll learn to love or hate Google Analytics and any other social media performance tools you choose to use.

This wealth of knowledge will help you better understand:

Who you’re engaging
How you’re engaging
How much you’re engaging
When you’re engaging
What most effectively helps you meet your goals
How SEO impacts your engagement

Valuing data is essential to helping you succeed. Without it, you’ll be scratching your head wondering how you can be doing everything that the gurus say to do without getting results.

2) Embrace the Process

Giving social media marketing a strategic approach means that nothing stays the same. Success will depend on effectively managing a flexible, dynamic strategy.

Use the data you’ve collected and analyzed to adapt and streamline your strategy. This will allow you to do more with less. Why?

Because data helps you focus your efforts on what works. As you begin to base your strategy on data, your ROI will increase. At the same time, you’ll be able to continually improve your processes and create meaningful, targeted content.

3) Create Memorable Content

One of the top reasons social campaigns fail is because they do what everyone else is doing: they do not lead, they follow. To the target customer, the content simply blends into the crowd. Don’t forget that we live in a world where consumers spend hours a day looking at a screen. You need to stand out in the crowd.

Focus on creating memorable content. Find new and creative ways to get your target customers talking. Give them a reason to share, like, and want to learn more.

4) Be Consistent

This might seem contrary to number two, but they actually co-exist. In order to make social media marketing a strategic approach, your target has to know you are:

Present
Paying attention
Relevant
Relatable

You demonstrate this by being active and engaged. Don’t play Saturday afternoon social media catch-up. It doesn’t work.

Create an editorial calendar and stick to a schedule to release new content. Consistently curate content, tips, inspirations, etc. Set aside at least 30 minutes per platform dedicated to: