If you have already started your business, it could be helpful for you to conduct an audit of the kinds of posts you have been doing and the success of these posts. Doing so will also help you learn the skills that we will discuss here. The sooner you learn to apply the skills, the better; so if you can do an audit of any content currently, it would be an advantage.
The Content
One element of social media marketing is the content that you will be producing. While we will discuss this in more detail in future posts, it is something that you must keep in mind. Content can be your everyday or more casual posting style as well as specific campaigns that you run.
While marketing is how you do it, ultimately the content is what you are selling. You will be using analytics to understand the success of your content.
You can have the best marketing strategy in the world but if your content is not good, then your account will not be as successful as it could be.
The Conversation
You can monitor the conversation about what people are already saying about you and steer the conversation in new ways. Listening to the buzz about you and the feedback you are receiving is an important part of marketing and growing your business. For example, checking in the comment sections, checking reviews, and checking message boards. It is not just enough to look at your own channels, you need to see how you are appearing in other places as well that you personally have less control over.
Checking your own notifications for mentions is one thing, but you also want to know what people are saying about you and not tagging you in. Sometimes when people air their grievances, they do not actually want to tag the brand itself, for fear of backlash or an uncomfortable conversation. This is why you just need to monitor things that include your name as well— just in case.
The “Social” of Social Media
It is right there in the name, there is no use just posting blindly into the void or shouting into an echo chamber: engagement is everything. It should be one of the primary goals of your marketing strategy.
And do not forget, engagement goes both ways. Not only do you want your audience to engage with you, but you need to engage back.
An element of this is your brand persona, but it also involves putting the time into replying and commenting and also creating a conversation and space for your audience where they feel valued, appreciated, and also have fun!
These are just some of the key elements that you need to consider when it comes to social media marketing. In future posts, we will go into more detail about each one of these points as well as other aspects that you need to keep in mind for your strategy.
But for now, if you can focus on creating content that is valuable and interesting, listening to and engaging in the conversation around your brand, and making sure that your persona is strong— then you will be well on your way to success!
