How to Develop an Effective Social Media Strategy Outline For Your Business

Growing consumer engagement across social media platforms is making it more important than ever to develop a concrete, manageable social media strategy outline for your business. It’s not enough to have a social media presence; you need a plan that encourages interaction and spreads your brand message to a wider audience.

Determine Your Goals
Before implementing a social media strategy outline, sit down and formulate a plan for what you want to accomplish. Know who will be managing social media within the company and educate those employees on the best ways to utilize platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Know Your Audience
Social media is all about communication, so know who you’ll be communicating with before you start. Research brand-related keywords across platforms to see what conversations people are already having about your business. You’ll get a clear picture of your online reputation and how you can best use social media to serve your customers.

Develop a Targeted Message
Your company has something unique to offer, and you want customers to know exactly what it is. Choose a few key terms and ideas that pertain to this message and come up with a list of relevant topics for each. Use the list as a starting point for all of your social media content. Consider setting up a blog to deliver more in-depth information to consumers. Good quality blog posts establish your business as a thought leader in your industry and make great starting points for conversations.

Establish Your Brand
Set up accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google + and any other social media platforms that make sense for your business. Use your company or brand name for each account to make your profile instantly recognizable and ensure a consistent image.

Get Involved
Make your presence known and establish yourself by commenting on blogs and forums as well as responding to Facebook posts and answering customer’s questions on Twitter. Interact with influential users in your industry and begin to build a beneficial network of contacts that you can leverage in the future.

Create a Plan for Content
Consistent posting of engaging, high-quality content is essential for any social media strategy outline. However, if you’re not careful, this pursuit can eat up time better spent on other parts of your business. Create a schedule for content creation that keeps you visible without taking away from the daily workings of the company.

Monitor, Analyze and Adapt
As you get more involved in social media, you want to track the results of your campaign. Utilize analytics and online monitoring tools to measure how much engagement your posts are generating. Knowing what’s getting attention and what isn’t as well as which types of posts generate the most positive feedback will guide you in how to best adjust your strategies over time.