What is a social media strategy?

A social media strategy covers your social media objective and plan. It includes what you will post, which platforms you will use and measurable goals.
It is important to remember that the growth and increased number won’t happen overnight. It requires a consistent and strategic effort.

Creating a social media strategy for small businesses:

1. Explain your overall social media strategy

Set SMART goals to ensure you set goals that are realistic.

A SMART goal is:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Timely

Use this method when creating your social media plan and apply each deliverable to your business needs and features. If this is your first time creating a social media strategy, start with a list of important goals. You will be able to track progress over time and always refer to them.

2. Select the most suitable social media platforms for your business

When it comes to social media platforms, there is a variety of pros and cons for each platform. You want to ensure that you choose platforms that are relevant to your business. Even if you just choose 1 platform to start with and make your way from there, this will ensure that you do not become overwhelmed with a full content calendar all at once.

Not sure which platform is most suitable for your business? Read our blog covering the Top Social Media Platforms for SMBs

3. Communicate your brand voice

Your brand voice reflects your company’s personality and is ultimately how you communicate to your target audience. Your brand voice and tone may differ from platform to platform, but it should always relay your company image and brand.

If you are finding it difficult to identify your tone, look at your company’s vision and mission statement and communicate that. Do you fit under the more playful/friendly brands or are you a more serious company?

4. Create, publish, and manage social posts

Once you have explained your social media strategy and goals, select the correct platform that you will use, communicate your brand voice and start creating and scheduling social media content.

For small business owners, it would help if you practiced content batching and use scheduling tools. It is a helpful technique that can save time, all you need to do is create a variety of captions, photos, and videos during a set period of time and schedule it for publishing at a later stage.

5. Track and measure your social media goals

Once your content strategy is planned and scheduled, keep in mind that you need to be consistent and don’t want to fall behind!

The key to a successful social media strategy for small businesses is consistency. Keep track of your progress by regularly checking your analytics to see whether your content is working and reaching your desired audience, this is very important because your analytics will show you what works and what does not work.

And that’s it!

A short and sweet how-to guide for creating a social media strategy for a small business.

Don’t forget to set aside time to create SMART goals, define your brand voice, and select platforms that best suit your business needs and goals.

And when you produce and publish consistent content, and use analytics to measure your results, you’ll be one step closer to creating a successful long-term strategy.