Social media strategy: How to plan, analyze, measure results
No matter how you choose to approach social media, be it through organic content posts, the pay-to-play model or a mix of both, you should have a solid social media strategic communications plan in place before you get down to business.Your plan should start with clear objectives, including defined target audiences. Are you elevating awareness for a specific event or a unique offer at your business? Perhaps you’d like to leverage your social media to garner more leads for your business.
Whatever your aim is, you’ll want to outline the tactics you’ll use to achieve your objectives such as which social media platforms you’ll leverage, how many posts you’ll make per week, will you have themes for posts, etc.
Your plan should be short and direct, ideally one page in length. Nothing too fancy, but it should be a road map for your success.
The balance of original and sponsored content typically hinges on your target audience and their buying decisions, and will also determine which social media platforms you should choose and how often you should post.
For beginners we suggest drafting one original article each month and supplementing that contact with 2-3 curated posts per week. Once you’ve established a social media plan and your team is comfortable with consistent organic posts, it may be time to consider the next step – begin experimenting with boosting and advertising on Facebook. At that level, you’ll want to outline a monthly budget for your paid campaigns.
A key to the success of your social media strategy – whether organic posts, paid posts or a combination – lies in the data.
Be sure to carefully review insights and analytics so you can identify your successes and failures. From there, you’ll double-down on the successes and play away from the failures.
Even though social media platforms analyze troves of data for you, it’s important to review and interpret the results carefully.
The data will show you if your boosted posts, as well as the timing and frequency of your posts, are reaching the audiences you want to reach.
Be ready to change your posting and boosting habits to achieve your objectives. And don’t be afraid to take chances, test strategies and make informed decisions.
Have you had success with a recent social media campaign? Need extra guidance when it comes to strategic planning for social media? Let us know in the comments section below!
About Capital City Public Relations
Capital City Public Relations is an award-winning PR agency with a client list that includes national and regional organizations, many with multiple facilities and offices across the United States. The firm’s clientele has appeared in he Wall Street Journal, on he Today Program, in the Los Angeles Times and across innumerable Colorado media outlets. The firm represents a wide range of industries, including medical, technology, restaurant and law, to name a very few.
Tags: advertising, content marketing, marketing strategy, social media
