3 Practices to Work like a Pro in Social Media Marketing
People all too often underestimate social media marketing. They believe it is no more than a bunch of promotional posts published on a specific social network. You will realize it when an average client asks you to manage his/her business page, making you feel like it’s a breeze.
These types of clients assign you the task just because they do not have the sufficient time to do it in their amateurish way, not taking into account that it should be handled by an expert. They have no inkling what the social media marketing process looks like and of course are unaware of the exertions you make to get such a job done in a proficient manner. That’s why they usually tend not to pay much!
On the other hand, there are clients who do appreciate your commitment yet with a critical eye for your professionalism and expertise. Typically this is the client you’d better deal with unless you find yourself incompetent enough.
But don’t worry! These 3 major practices will help leverage your skills and make you work like a pro:
1-Formulate a Social Media Marketing Strategy
Strategy is the bedrock of the marketing activity. Without it, your performance will be disorganized, your decisions random, your actions indecisive. It’s like a compass that guides your way all through.
Every marketer has his own method when it comes to creating the strategy. Some make it brief while others prefer the detailed one. Here’s the main stuff you should include in a strategy:
Goals:
They vary from a business to another. Goals encompass maximizing sales, increasing followers, building brand awareness, collecting leads, etc.
Competitive Analysis:
It’s crucial to determine the current (and potential) competitors and evaluate their performance on social media channels by thoroughly analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.
Target Segment:
You have to define your target market by elaborately describing your social client persona in terms of psychographics (habits, interests, lifestyle, values), demographics (age, gender, income, marital status, education, occupation) and geographics (residence or work place). Ignoring this step simply makes your marketing worthless and ineffective.
Social Networks:
Not because a particular social media channel is trendy, you go for it. Pick the one(s) where your target audience hang out!
Types of Content:
There is a wide variety of content out there that you can make the best use of to accomplish your goals like branded videos, GIFs, infographics, how-to posts, reviews, contests, case studies, and much more. Try to figure out what types suit your brand better and list them.
Suggested Topics: (optional)
Think of a broad range of topics which attract your target audience and really serve their needs. We all know that finding the right topic to write about is not an easy job so this part will help you save lots of time when creating content.
Number of Posts:
Deciding on the number of posts published a month is of paramount importance as it’s considered a part of the deal with your client and you have to stick to it whatever happens.
Posting Frequency: (optional)
Mention the number of posts you’ll publish each week. Being specific makes things more organized.
Brand Voice:
The brand voice is how you address your audience through the words used on social media platforms. It plays a great role in defining your brand identity and converting prospects. It can be formal, casual, welcoming, empowering, etc. Just make sure it stays the same all through.
Language:
Language is the tool of communication. If it’s not perfectly understandable, your message will not be conveyed and definitely your product/ service will not be sold. It’s often better to use the native language of your target segment unless you aim for an elite group with unique attributes.
Budget for Paid Ads:
Allocate a specific budget for paid ads after discussing it with the client. In case his/her budget is limited, tell him/her about the minimum amount you can work with and see how much they can pay.
Tactical Planning:
In marketing, tactics are the actions you take to reach the strategic goals. For instance, if one of these goals is to be a thought leader in your field, you have to publish in-depth, authentic content whether in a form of videos, articles, etc. Also expect people to refer to you whenever they have any relevant queries as you have to be fully prepared to provide them with the correct information.
2-Draw up a Monthly Content Plan
Some marketers integrate the content calendar into the plan. The elements included in it differ from a person/ client to another.
Basically, it contains the the main topics of the month, their content format, the objective of publishing them (brand awareness, direct promotion, collecting leads, etc), the target persona and the use of paid ad (decide which ones will be made sponsored ads). Of course the plan can be much more detailed. It’s all up to you.
3-Write a Monthly Social Media Report
This report primarily consists of data and statistics. Many people neglect it because its preparation is demanding and time-consuming. Yet this doing signifies lack of professionalism and competence as this report assesses the performance of the page you’re responsible for. So not writing it means losing track of its progress, working unsystematically, which ultimately leads to non-accomplishment.
To cut a long story short, when it comes to social media marketing, there is much more to be done if you want to crack it. However, applying the above-mentioned practices is the first step to take your work to the next level. Strategy, plan, and assessment are the pillars the whole process is based on.
Language is the tool of communication. If it’s not perfectly understandable, your message will not be conveyed and definitely your product/ service will not be sold. It’s often better to use the native language of your target segment unless you aim for an elite group with unique attributes.
Budget for Paid Ads:
Allocate a specific budget for paid ads after discussing it with the client. In case his/her budget is limited, tell him/her about the minimum amount you can work with and see how much they can pay.
Tactical Planning:
In marketing, tactics are the actions you take to reach the strategic goals. For instance, if one of these goals is to be a thought leader in your field, you have to publish in-depth, authentic content whether in a form of videos, articles, etc. Also expect people to refer to you whenever they have any relevant queries as you have to be fully prepared to provide them with the correct information.
2-Draw up a Monthly Content Plan
Some marketers integrate the content calendar into the plan. The elements included in it differ from a person/ client to another.
Basically, it contains the the main topics of the month, their content format, the objective of publishing them (brand awareness, direct promotion, collecting leads, etc), the target persona and the use of paid ad (decide which ones will be made sponsored ads). Of course the plan can be much more detailed. It’s all up to you.
3-Write a Monthly Social Media Report
This report primarily consists of data and statistics. Many people neglect it because its preparation is demanding and time-consuming. Yet this doing signifies lack of professionalism and competence as this report assesses the performance of the page you’re responsible for. So not writing it means losing track of its progress, working unsystematically, which ultimately leads to non-accomplishment.
To cut a long story short, when it comes to social media marketing, there is much more to be done if you want to crack it. However, applying the above-mentioned practices is the first step to take your work to the next level. Strategy, plan, and assessment are the pillars the whole process is based on.
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