Today, social media isn’t optional — it’s a key component of your marketing strategy. Companies and brands without a social media presence can be seen as out of touch at best, and untrustworthy at worst. However, the social media game is ever-changing. What once worked for the all-mysterious algorithms one day may not work the next. Thankfully, there are three easy-to-execute improvements you can make to keep your social media strategy on point.
1. Build Authoritative Content Worth Posting About
Social media isn’t just about likes and follows; it’s about driving results. However, an artfully crafted piece of copy and a flashy image carry little weight without proof. That’s why you need to consider content depth along with your scheduled posting strategy.
It’s not enough to state your brand’s authority or your product’s effectiveness — you need to support your claims. Use long-form content hosted on your blog to reinforce what you’re sharing with your followers on your social media platforms. The more in-depth knowledge you can share, the more authority you’ll earn with your readers and through search engines.
Create content pillars for the key topics you have unique expertise on or those relevant to your product lines. This content strategy uses a 3,000-word or longer blog post full of valuable keywords, phrases, and questions. From there, sub-posts break off to reinforce what the pillar post establishes, linking back to it within. This approach allows you to address both your audience’s specific questions and offer more comprehensive information. It also establishes a web of interconnected content that signals to search engines that you’re an authority on the topic.
Examine your brand and product offering to identify potential content pillars. Look at your site’s search results and compare them against generic and competitor searches. There, you can begin to see where your most relevant pillars may be.
If you’re selling hypoallergenic bedding, your content pillar may focus on the impact of poor sleep on one’s life. Your blog may dig into well-cited research, the impacts of allergens on sleep, and later point to your products as potential solutions. Now your social media posts have data-driven, authoritative content to point to, with plenty of keywords and links to follow.
2. Create an Intentional Brand Voice
The concept of a brand voice may seem too abstract to nail down, but your social media tone matters. The lawyers may like it if you keep things safe and more akin to the company boilerplate. However, forging real human connections requires personality over corporate-speak. That’s why creating an intentional brand voice, establishing rules for it, and reinforcing its presence are key to your strategy.
Start by digging into your brand, what you stand for, and how you want to interact with followers. Are you a research-based, technical brand? Then an assertive voice that slings the industry jargon may hit the sweet spot. A direct-to-consumer brand of travel essentials, on the other hand, may assume a more approachable, adventurous voice.
Analyze your current marketing materials, customer feedback, and industry peers to identify common themes. Think about how your customer service team is coached to engage with customers. If you have a physical store, consider the impression it makes. Then, use all these data points together to develop a consistent brand voice for your social profiles.
It may happen that this analysis reveals a disjointed brand voice. If so, resist the temptation to let it slide, and instead pause your social media focus to tend to the issue. This may require content schedule flexibility and new priorities, but without a consistent voice, all other marketing initiatives are at risk.
Coin your brand voice by giving it life through descriptors, even creating a persona to depict your brand. Your adventurous traveler persona may come to life through “Vanessa,” who takes her unlimited vacation time seriously. Flesh out this persona fully, and use it as the filter through which all communication happens. Train your customer-facing teams with this brand voice to ensure a cohesive experience throughout all channels.
3. Use Social Media to Provide First-Class Service to Your Followers
There’s nothing like arriving at a hotel and being offered a steamed towel to wipe the travel grime away. If your coffee order is ready for you moments after you walk into your neighborhood java joint, you feel great.
When someone anticipates your needs, you get an immediate jolt of gratitude and happiness. And that’s a strategy you can deploy through social media.
If gratitude and social media seem like a mismatched pair, think again. Social media is a tool you can use to serve your core audience. As consumer preferences have shifted, your social channels have become a customer service platform, not just a marketing one. While you may use your pages to promote new products and boast achievements, your customers are often there to get help.
Analyze your recent social media traffic, including comments, reviews, and direct messages. There, you can identify high-priority topics to resolve. If followers are visiting to get help installing your software, it’s a key indicator that this area is lacking. Implement training and provide tutorial opportunities to the right team. Then, use messaging automation to point future inquiries to the right place.
Automate responses to common inquiries using your brand voice, just like a member of your social media team would. Personalize individual responses when your team is messaging, greet the customer by name, and sign off with a first name. This strategy immediately lets the recipient know that they’ve been heard, and it can even help defuse any negativity.
Keep Your Social Media Strategy Flexible
No longer can social media be a secondary component of your strategy, nor can it be a casual engagement. Approach your social media space with the mindset of a scientist, with curiosity at the forefront. This spirit of experimentation will require an equal commitment to flexibility.
Shrug off old notions of the best way to do social media and be open to new ideas and concepts. Consider more than just your industry peers as models — open your research pool to include brands and personalities in other sectors, too. The more curious, flexible, and intentional you are about your social media strategy, the better results you’ll earn long-term.
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