How to Develop a Social Media Strategy in 5 Steps

The impact of social media is more important than ever for companies and brands to convince potential customers. Information nowhere spreads faster, and billions of people can be reached instantly. In January 2022, the number of social network users worldwide reached an estimated 4.62 billion. The number of users has increased by about ten percent compared to the previous year. That makes it even more important to set up an efficient social media strategy in order to reach your target group with the right tactics and convince them of your products or services. 

In this article, you will learn how to set up a successful social media strategy and what steps are necessary to do so.

Social Media Strategy in 5 Steps 

1. Set Realistic Goals

Before you start asking yourself which social networks and people are relevant, you should define realistic goals first. Make sure that your goals are defined clearly and, within an achievable framework. It can also be helpful to set yourself several smaller goals instead of targeting one single goal. This will keep the team motivated and you will not lose sight of your overall goal. Use the SMART principle to clearly define your goals: 

• Specific

Clearly define what you want to achieve.

• Measurable

Use measurable numbers, such as follower growth, engagement, or paid and organic reach to describe your goal. To measure these metrics, social media tools like Fanpage Karma can be used.

• Achievable

Your goal has to be achievable and realistic. Increasing the number of your followers from 100 to 100,000 followers in a month, for example, is an unrealistic goal. 

• Relevance 

A relevant social media marketing goal is in accordance with the success of your company. 

• Time-based

If your goal isn’t time-bound, it’s hard to measure.

“I want to grow a lot in a month”, is a poorly chosen goal. “I want to grow my business’s Instagram account from 1,000 to 15,000 followers in one year,” is a much better-chosen goal, as it is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. With clear objectives, you are in the best position to define your goals.

2. Define your Target Audience

Your marketing strategy will only be successful if you know exactly who your target audience is. If this is not the case, your efforts can be in vain, your followers may not feel addressed and your activities will run without success. Here it helps to know your buyer personas and align your strategy with your potential customers. Personas represent your ideal customer and give you a detailed insight to understand the behavior and needs of your target group in more detail. To draw a concrete picture of your users, you should include basic facts such as age, life circumstances, work, and marital status. Information about personal values, goals, and possible buying objections will also help you create a persona. The goal is to learn who your users actually are and to understand their decisions, feelings, and ways of thinking. This allows you to create user-specific content and campaigns to increase click-through rates and engagement.

3. Identify Relevant Social Media Platforms

Being active on all social networks is impossible these days. Focus your efforts on individual platforms and achieve more targeted success. With detailed information about your target group, you can now assess which social networks fit your brand. The demographic data of the individual platforms will also help you find out where your target group is active. Young users, for example, may have a profile on Facebook but are more active on Instagram or TikTok. Take a look at your industry and your competitors as well. Where are they most successful and reach the target audience best?

4. Keep an Eye on Your Competitors

Now focus on your industry and find out which companies are your competitors. Decide whether you want to compare yourself with national or international competitors. This will also give you a good idea of how broad the industry is and how many competitors you have. Get an overview and create a list of your profiles and those of your direct competitors.

Netflix’s main competitors on the German market are Among the direct competitors of Netflix in Germany are Apple TV, Disney+, Sky, and Amazon Prime. The graph shows the number of Instagram followers of each company. Apple TV ranks first, closely followed by Netflix and Sky, with the fewest followers.

A social media dashboard allows you to clearly display all profiles in one spreadsheet. The table shows you the different social media profiles of each company as well as important KPIs. Make sure to add all important competitors and your own profiles.

5. Track, Measure and Improve 

An important part of a successful social media strategy is to keep track of your metrics. Your data will give you a reference to assess your current performance and help you identify further actions. This allows you to determine which actions work, to which posts people react, and which content gets the most interaction. These results will help you rethink or change your strategy to improve your social media performance. Do you notice that posts on a certain topic receive a lower average of post interaction than others? You can then take action to determine if the topic isn’t interesting to your target audience, or if you need to approach the topic differently to reach your target audience. 

Review your strategy on a regular basis. No matter what you post or which audience you’re targeting, something can always change and cause you to adjust your strategy. Keep an eye on your metrics and content, so you can make adjustments at any time and react more quickly to changes or trends. If your actions don’t work and adjustments don’t change anything, you should go a few steps back and check if your target audience and networks fit your brand. 

Conclusion

You don’t have to be an expert to build a successful social media strategy. It’s more important to take deliberate actions and set realistic goals. Choose your social networks carefully and make sure to convince your target audience of your brand with high-quality content and the right tactics. By adjusting your strategy regularly and keeping a close eye on your metrics, you can achieve your social media goals.