LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, WeChat, Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook; though small, your business appears on all the social media platforms.

You subscribe to the belief that social media and the opportunity it affords to share information, ideas and yes products and service in real-time is of significant value. 

Moreover, we know you understand that social media marketing aids in your business maintaining its relevance and continuity, especially in our present climate.   We imagine it’s why you have ensured your business features on all the platforms, and why your website showcases your various accounts.

Excellent! That’s the first step; now let’s talk about your strategy because the journey has only just begun.  The goal is not to be on social media, but to execute a viable, engaging and ultimately profitable plan.

Your business must maintain its relevance, and this does not occur simply by creating accounts on various platforms.  Consistent and pertinent activity that engages your audience is required—more than that, it’s expected.

So how do you develop a marketing strategy when you’re running a small business, and you don’t have a marketing dream team?

Here are five useful tips for devising a social media marketing plan:

Determine what you want to achieve.  Align your goals for social media marketing with your business’ objectives. To get started, employ the SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) model.

Identify your target market.  Who are you trying to engage?  Deciding beforehand which customers you’re attempting to reach will have a significant impact on which social media tools you use, what messages you communicate and even the format you use. A useful practice is to create a buyer persona.

Decide which social media tools to use.  Review the various social media applications, their purposes and benefits.  Then, decide which network would be most suitable for helping you accomplish your goals.  For example, for small businesses, Facebook or Instagram may be deemed more effective methods for communicating with present and potential customers, than Twitter.    Also, according to the channel, you may need to tweak your plan.

Set up your profiles thoroughly.  Remember impressions count, and first impressions last.  While you may have established customers, for some, this may be their first interaction with your brand.  Carefully complete all fields.  Pay attention to the fields that require you to provide information about your business (About Us/Profile); be concise but informative. Leave your audience with a clear idea of what you offer.

Utilise the metrics to fine-tune your plan.  A key benefit of social media marketing is its measurability.  There is a score of analytic tools that provide useful statistics.  Use them to gain insight into the demographics of your audience.  They can also help you determine how much attention your brand receives; the speed at which your audience is growing and how people are engaging with your content.  Ultimately, social media metrics allow you to determine the impact of your strategy on your bottom-line.   It’s time to let words such as links, impressions, @mentions, shares, conversion and bounce rate become your new buzzwords.

The goal of marketing is always a return on your investments, and it’s the same for social media marketing.  However, to do this requires careful planning, and periodic assessment to ensure goal alignment.

Your business can benefit from social media marketing, but it can only do so if you employ a strategy.  Remember you’re embarking on a journey.

Need help with building your online presence through social media?  Our team of marketers and certified Google and Facebook experts are here to help. 

Access support with a Complete-Done-4-U Service.

Was this article helpful?  Want more content like this? Feel free to download our NEW eBook and subscribe.  We’ll update you once new content and offers are released.

Sources: The Balance Small Business, eMarketer and Hootsuite