A quick lesson on: Social Media Strategy

When it comes to planning your social media strategy, we need to remember that everything starts with our business goals. What are we trying to achieve? How can we use social media as a communication and sales channel? What is the purpose of each post, are we trying to connect with our followers, reach new audiences, show a new product or feature?

At SOFIA, we’ve been helping clients reach their goals for several years now. And every client has a different understanding of social media. What’s in it for me? How should I use it? What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to act? Why should I even do it?

Let’s start with this: Social media is a ‘must-have’ for almost any company. But ‘to have’ social media is not enough. Being on social media is not the same as ‘doing’ social media. And to start doing it right, there is something as essential as having social media, and it’s having a social media strategy.

What do I want from my audience but more importantly, what do they want for me? Is my content centered around me, my products, and my brand? Or is my content based on the social agenda and my clients’ questions about me, my products, and my brand?

Are your partnerships based on products’ value such as giveaways? Or are your partnerships based on values, working together with brands, people, or non-profit that have a story that connects to yours in some way.

These are all tough questions that you need to address.

Reach vs connection:
This is an easy way to start. Next time you are planning, thinking, or creating a post, ask yourself this question: What’s the goal: reaching, or connection? When you’re trying to reach more people, you’re focusing on a variety of social media channels, posts’ quantity and frequency; and creating brand-centered content. On the other hand, if you’re trying to connect with your existing followers on a deeper level, you’ll focus on the quality of your content, and on creating opportunities to start conversations. The other important foundation of an efficient social media strategy is having a well-defined brand voice. How does the brand look and talk on social media? What’s the relationship with their followers, users, and potential prospects? Are we trying to be friends, experts in our field, allies on a social/cultural subject?

As long as we have a clear understanding of the business goals, brand voice, and the role the brand has on every given topic in social media (passive or active) creating and planning the content calendar will become an easier, more effective tool instead of a day-by-day task with little effects or real impact.

To summarize it, you need to ask yourself, why are we on social media? What goals are we trying to achieve? Is it a one-way communication channel or is it a place where we try to have conversations with our audience? Is it a place to showcase our work, to talk about what we love, or is it a place to sell?

So, what’s the next post going to be? Reaching or connecting?

What do would you like to add about this? I hear you :)