Did Someone Say Social Strategy?
As a digital marketing agency, one thing we run into frequently is business owners trying to juggle too much on their own. Once business owners realize they want to differentiate and create content that works, they come to us with their marketing needs and we create an effective social strategy.
What is a social strategy? Simply put, a social strategy is a thought out plan that includes cohesive photos, graphics, and micro content in pushing out a brand’s messages, campaigns, and goals on a variety of platforms. A social strategy also creates another avenue for reaching potential customers and creating relationships with them.
Why is a social strategy important? In the fast-paced world we live in, consumers want everything pronto, simplified, yet enticing. If you do not keep up-to-date on the latest technologies and trends in the business world, you risk becoming complacent and falling behind to the competition in your industry. Your social strategy is important to your social identity. What you say, what you do not say, and how you say something all need to reflect your true brand online. Chances are, consumers are following you and engaging with you online on a daily basis versus visiting your place of business. Being able to present yourself online as you would in real life is a must. A social strategy helps consumers subconsciously think of you as the first and best seller of items they want to purchase. Remember the Blackberry smart phone? Blackberry became complacent and soon fell to the competition's social strategies.
What should a social strategy look like?
1). Cohesive. Consumers expect brands to be harmonious on every platform. If a customer looks you up on Facebook and Instagram, would they be able to tell you are the same business? The answer should be yes. Let’s use Nike as an example. Most consumers are able to identify a Nike commercial/post and the message they are sending - regardless of what channel it is on. From logos and fonts to campaigns, consumers don’t want to try and think “what brand is this now and what do they want?” Having constant, cohesive messages tells consumers who you are and why you are engaging with them. Social strategies create patterns consumers become familiar with + start to search for.
2). Thought out. A lot of time and research go into maintaining social strategies. A few important factors to consider when creating a social media strategy are what is your goal with the strategy? Whom are you targeting? What platforms are you spreading your message on? Is your content measurable? Is your content relevant? We typically work on strategies months in advance from ideas to curation and implementation, we make sure that all content has the key points of the strategy on collateral, the content is shown on all platforms, and all of the energy is focused on maximizing results. A social strategy isn’t simply posting online 3 times a week.
3). Placed. Another important piece to having a social strategy is placing your strategy. This includes asking questions such as...where should your business be placing its energy? Facebook ads? Instagram? Billboards? Print? Google ads? Boosting posts? Mailers? The list goes on. If you have a great message, you want the most people possible to see it. One thing that is tricky about social strategies is that every business is different. A platform that works for one business may not work for another; even if the businesses are in the same industry. For each individual business, we research, monitor, and adjust each platform the social strategy is on to optimize results.
4). Implemented. Business owners are phenomenal. They always have ideas and business on their minds. For many people, this is as far as the idea goes. However, for gaining new customers and sharing your brand, implementing ideas and turning them into a social strategy is where everything starts. Let's say you had an idea of advertising an event and decided to follow through. Maybe a potential customer kept seeing a big event you had come up everywhere online and decided to check it out...tada! Idea --> place --> implement --> results. That is what social strategies are about.
