Social media is one of the most valuable elements of your digital marketing strategy. However, are you getting the most out of your social profiles? If you’re like most businesses, you might be falling behind the competition without realizing it.
Fortunately, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll show you six different ways to keep your social media management up-to-date. If you’re not investing more time and energy into social media, now’s a perfect time.
Six Ways to Manage Your Social Media Better
Step One: Develop a Plan of Action
Whether you’re building marketing materials for social media, a blog, or SEO, you need to have some goals in mind. Otherwise, you’re shooting in the dark, and it’s impossible to tell what’s working and what isn’t.
When developing a social media plan, be sure to follow the SMART protocol, which is:
- Specific – Don’t overstretch your resources with complex goals. One example could be to increase your follower count by 100 people.
- Measurable – If you can’t translate your objective into numbers, how do you know if you’ve succeeded (or failed)?
- Attainable – While it would be nice to accrue one million followers in a month, how likely is it that you’ll reach that number? Start smaller and work your way up.
- Relevant – Although vanity metrics like follower counts are nice, how do they translate to better sales? A more relevant goal would be to get people to click a link on social posts to a specific sales landing page.
- Time-Based – Without a deadline, your objectives could take weeks, months, or even years. A deadline ensures that you stay motivated and makes it easier to analyze your results later.
Step Two: Understand Your Audience
Don’t forget the “social” part of social media. While you can leverage these platforms for your business, most people use social media as a form of entertainment. So instead of building “ads,” it’s better to make connections with your followers. Some ways to understand your audience include:
- Surveys – Ask your followers for their feedback, particularly about which content they like to see the most.
- Customer Avatars – Focus on a single persona instead of an entire group.
- Demographic Data – Sites like Facebook have tons of insights into key demographics already, so tap into that information.
Step Three: Find the Best Platforms
Facebook works well for video content, while Twitter is best for short blurbs and links to blog posts and articles. If you want to share more pictures and videos, TikTok and Instagram are very media-friendly sites.
Once you have your plan of action, divide your content between platforms. Also, it helps to understand which demographics use each site the most. For example, TikTok skews to a younger crowd, while Facebook appeals to older generations.
Step Four: Create Engaging Content
All the data in the world won’t help you build a social media audience. Instead, you need to create compelling content that will entice users to click, comment, like, and share.
Unfortunately, there is some trial and error to this process, as you have to produce content first and see what kind of reaction you get. From there, you can ask users what they want to see more of so that you can focus on higher-ranking material.
Another aspect of content creation is that quality trumps quantity. It’s often better to put out one excellent piece per week than subpar content every day. Also, don’t forget that you can reshare and recirculate your material to boost its profile. Don’t assume that once you publish a piece, it’s gone for good.
Step Five: Connect With Your Audience
Another component of “social” media is socializing with your followers. It’s not enough to post content regularly; you need to engage with your audience so that they know someone is paying attention. So, be sure to:
- Leave comments under posts, especially ones asking questions of your audience.
- Respond to comments and direct messages as quickly as possible.
- Like, comment, and share content from other users and brands.
Step Six: Analyze Your Results
Once you’ve started working on social media management, you should collect as much data as possible. Then, you can analyze the information to see which elements are working or not. Over time, you can refine your process so that you get more engagement. For example, if behind-the-scenes videos get the most views and comments, produce more of them. On the other hand, if polished ads don’t get any traction, don’t waste time on them.
Do You Need Help Managing Social Media Profiles?
Work with the professionals at BizIQ to improve your online presence today!
Overall, social media management is a full-time position. If you don’t have the time or resources to devote to your social marketing, let BizIQ’s social media experts handle it for you. We understand what it takes to get noticed on these platforms, and we can take care of everything from a plan of action to content creation. Contact us today to get started.
