Social media has become a fundamental way businesses reach their target audiences. However, with so many social platforms and new ones emerging all the time, it can be hard to know where to start. Creating a social media marketing plan will help you identify which platforms are right for your business and how best to achieve your marketing goals on each of them.

Businesses can use many social media channels to reach their target audience or build brand awareness. Depending on your marketing objectives and available resources, different social media strategies might make more sense than others for your business at this time. Read on for details about creating a social media marketing plan and tips for doing so successfully.

What is a Social Media Marketing Plan?

Social media marketing plans are created to help you achieve specific goals and objectives as they relate to your brand or business. They can be used as part of an overall marketing strategy or simply as stand-alone programs that focus on specific customer engagement or lead generation tactics. They may also help you understand how your customers use social media so that you can better target them with your messaging. The step to creating a social media marketing plan is as follows:

Identify Your Marketing Objectives

Before you even think about what social media channels to use, it's essential to identify your marketing objectives and goals. What are you trying to achieve with your social media marketing? How do these objectives align with the different channels? For example, if one of your primary business goals is customer acquisition, then a Facebook or Instagram ad campaign might be more appropriate than a Twitter campaign.

If your goal is conversions, you might want to consider running ads on Instagram or Facebook that direct people back to your website for shopping. There are many types of marketing objectives you can have for your business, and each social channel will work better for some than others based on the kind of objective.

For example, if one of your primary objectives is lead generation, LinkedIn might offer the best opportunity because they have an option in their ads called "Lead Generation." It lets companies collect prospects' contact information when they click on an ad. In contrast, if you're looking to build brand awareness through content creation and curation (like creating pins), Pinterest would be a better choice because there are no paid ads like LinkedIn.

Another thing to consider is how much time and money you want to spend on this strategy. If you have a budget for social media campaigns but only limited resources (time or workforce), it will make sense to focus on just one channel. If not, try focusing on two media until you have enough resources before expanding further.

Select the Right Social Media Platforms for Your Brand

The first step in creating a social media marketing plan is determining which channels will be most effective for your brand. Some brands might be well-suited to using multiple social media platforms, whereas others may focus their efforts on just a few. You can choose from various platforms to create your social media marketing plan. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube are the most popular platforms.

There are other platforms that you can choose from as well. These include Pinterest, Google+, Snapchat, and Reddit. Before you finalize your list of channels, it's essential to consider the following:

- Your business' target audience and its demographics (age, gender, location)

- The content you wish to share with your audience

- Type of content you can share on each channel

- What your brand wants to achieve by using social media

- Cost of managing the different platforms

Once you have considered these factors, you'll need to choose which platforms are right for your business. If one platform is significantly more expensive than another or has stricter guidelines around what types of content can be shared, then that might be the best choice for you. However, suppose all three platforms are relatively similar in terms of cost and what types of content can be shared on them, then choose whichever one aligns with your marketing objectives and target audience the best.

Decide on a Content Marketing Strategy

Before creating a social media marketing plan, you should decide on a content marketing strategy. Content marketing means creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to establish thought leadership and drive traffic to your website or blog.

You can use many different types of content to create a social media marketing plan. Some examples include:

- Blog posts on industry

- Relevant topics

- Contests for fans

- Interactive videos or images

- User-generated pictures or videos

These strategies are ways to generate engagement with your audience and increase brand awareness. The type of platform you choose will depend on your target goals. For example, if you're looking to generate exposure for your business, then Facebook is an excellent choice because it is one of the most popular sites in the world. On the other hand, if you're looking to drive traffic to your website, search platforms like Google+ and LinkedIn are better suited for that task as they have higher SEO rankings than Facebook.

Find the Right Tools

To create a social media marketing plan, identifying the right tools. Many free or low-cost tools can help you manage your social media marketing and make it easier to post on multiple platforms. Tools like Hootsuite allow you to schedule tweets and Facebook posts ahead of time, which can help save your time. You can also use a tool like Zoho Social to create custom Facebook ad campaigns and monitor your Twitter feed in one place.

Define Actionable Marketing Strategies

The first step to creating a social media marketing plan is defining your marketing objectives. To make the most effective method, you need to identify what you need to accomplish. Do you want to increase brand awareness or drive traffic? Are you looking for customer feedback or trying to build your email list for a future campaign? Knowing your goals will make it easier for you to decide which social media channels are best suited for your needs.

Once defined, break down these objectives into actionable strategies. For example, if one of your goals is increasing brand awareness, consider posting content that's focused on educating people about your services in an engaging manner, including links back to your website where they can learn more. This way, people will be more likely to remember and recognize the company when they hear its name in the future.

Final Thought

The best social media marketing plans are the ones that have been tailored to your business. Each business has a different target audience and goals. Let your firm's attributes be the foundation for creating this plan. Consider what makes your business unique and how you can offer something different from your competitors uniquely.

BACK TO BLOG

What to Learn More?

Discover and enjoy SetAds webinars and podcasts.

PODCASTS

Email has been sent!