7 Key Elements Of A Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy
When customers, friends, or acquaintances ask me why social media marketing, which actually has all the prerequisites, is failing, the answer is usually simple: the (right) strategy is missing.
Good social media marketing is not like chicken and egg – which comes first here is absolutely out of the question. In order to become successful in social media marketing, social media marketing must always be based on a strategy. Because what happens when marketing is done without a strategy? You will lose money, you will lose a lot of time, and you will lose customers.
None of this should happen under any circumstances? Then you have to strategically plan your marketing measures on the social web in advance. So that your strategy works, I have put together the seven points of a successful social media marketing strategy for you, which have turned out to be absolutely key elements for customers in my many years of work in the social media area.
1 Goal
Social media marketing is a bit like cooking. No, not a joke. When you cook, you know what you’re hungry or hungry for right now. So this is your goal. Then you look for a recipe, think about how to proceed and also think about what ingredients you need for it (i.e. what means you want to use to achieve your goal). If you cook without a recipe, on the other hand, it can happen that you forget ingredients or work steps and the result does not taste as good as you wanted it to!
On an absolute basis, it is important to first clarify what you want to achieve with your efforts. Increase brand awareness? More visitors to your online shop? Interact with fans and strengthen the bond with you? Make sure you also put your goals in writing so that you can evaluate them later!
2. Target Audience
Basic number two is the target audience. In order for your measures to take effect and to be efficient, you have to be clear about who you want to address – otherwise, the whole thing has something of the famous “shooting at sparrows with cannons”.
It can help to create buyer personas or audience personas. These are fictional people who represent a specific target group. The personas should contain basic demographic data such as age, gender, and marital status, but also more detailed information, such as what goals a person is pursuing and what solution your company can offer them.
3. Budget
Another important point: the budget. It is imperative that you determine in advance how much you can and will spend on your marketing activities. Cost centers that you have to deal with are, for example, the production of content, the costs for advertisements, tools that you use, or external specialists that you may have to hire.
4. Team
That leads us straight to the next point: who should be responsible for your social media marketing?
Can you do the area internally or not?
If you want to conduct your social media marketing internally, you must first put together a team and clarify responsibilities. However, I think internal social media marketing only makes sense for very few, very online-savvy companies. After all, social media management is a job of its own, for which people in training or studies qualify for years – and you would not, for example, have your legal advice carried out in-house.
So if you hire external specialists, freelancers, or an agency, you should plan this cost center in your budget. However, you can be sure of more professional work and greater success. In addition, if you decide to work with an external provider, you can also choose between different levels of support – from advice and implementation of individual campaigns to complete social media support.
5. Information
New trends, new functions, new advertising formats: the social media business is fast-moving like few others. It is therefore important to inform yourself regularly in order to always stay up to date. This applies to the right posting times, new formats such as live videos or stories, trends such as artificial intelligence, or new marketing tools and functions.
My tip to always stay up to date: subscribe to some social media newsletters that many agencies offer, or follow social media agencies on, how could it be otherwise, social media.
6. Combining With Other Marketing Measures
Do you use other marketing measures such as a newsletter, SEA marketing, or offline marketing? Then think about how you can strategically integrate social media marketing into this in a meaningful way.
The various strategies can certainly interlock and complement each other in a meaningful way, but there can also be overlaps in other areas. In any case, the measures must be coordinated – and this is preferred before you start social media marketing!
Also Read: Can We Monetize Our YouTube Channel?
7. Evaluation
How’s your social media marketing strategy going? Which of your campaigns performed well and which didn’t? Where was the use of money worthwhile?
In order to compare the effects of different measures, to recognize whether measures produce the desired results, or to find out whether your strategy is successful at all, you have to measure their performance. To do this, you first have to find out which metrics are relevant for you – because not only the number of followers and likes can tell something about your performance, but also less common metrics such as clicks, reach, or engagement. So look back at your goals and think about which key figures measure the effect of the measures you use to achieve them sensibly or not sensibly. This is the only way to sensibly improve your strategy and make your social media marketing even more efficient!
