Secrets to Taming Your Social Media
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Social media can seem like a raging river, with a constant flow of likes, posts, notifications, tweets, and other content streaming online and vying for your audience’s attention. If you are struggling to manage your channels, it can feel like you’re swimming upstream, unable to make any headway. That’s why it’s important to have a plan in place that makes social media management simple for you.
First, Get Focused
There are a lot of social channels out there, and the temptation is to get on all of them so you don’t miss a beat. But before you jump in, think about where you can make the most impact because you’ll want to start directing your energies there.
For instance, if your brand is visual, Instagram is the place to be. If you have content on your website or an online shop you’re trying to drive traffic to, Pinterest will be key for you. Trying to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry? Harness the power of LinkedIn. Targeting a younger demographic? Look to TikTok, SnapChat, or WhatsApp. If you’re just establishing your company on social media, you may want to begin with a handful of key sites and then branch out from there. Regardless of whether you provide products or a service, you’ll want to take advantage of the features that a Google My Business listing that exist.
Next, Plan Your Content
Once you have your social media channels lined up, it’s time to populate them. Look at each one and determine what the specific content needs are. You’ll also want to keep an eye on your social media goals and make sure the content achieves your objectives. The types of content may include:
- Photos
- Videos
- Posts or articles
- Livestreams
- Infographics
- External content you can link to
- User-generated content
- Podcasts
- Testimonial blurbs or videos
- News items about your brand or your industry
- Guest or influencer posts
- Contests
- Product images
- Motivational quotes
When you know what kind of content you need, you then have to figure out how to generate it. Will posts be written in-house, or do you want to hire a freelance content writer? Can you get photos from a stock agency, such as Shutterstock, or do you need to set up a photo shoot? Who are the people in your network that could write a guest blog or do a podcast interview? It’s helpful to have a budget in place if you need to outsource any tasks.
Brainstorm some topics and determine the best content fit for each one. When you have a meaty list pulled together, set up a content calendar that includes the materials you need for each post, the dates content will be posted and the channels where the content will live.
Finally, Get Organized
You could spend most of your day manning your social channels, which wouldn’t leave much time for your real job. That’s why cross-platform tools are essential. They streamline social media management to make life much easier for you. Use these tools to post the same content on multiple channels with just the click of a button.
There are also scheduling tools that allow you to create content in advance and then slot them to go live at a later date. Our agency uses Social Pilot to manage all client accounts in one dashboard, making it easy to see everything, all in one place. (Some individual social media channels, such as Facebook, also have this capability.) Handling image creation and photo editing is much simpler with a graphics tool, like Canva, that lets you create eye-catching visuals. Finally, you want to track who’s talking about your brand on other social media channels, so employ tools that aggregate your company’s social media mentions and hashtags, such as Sprout Social or other listening tools. This will help you identify and engage with your audience. Other tools you may want to look into include Tailwind (for Pinterest management), Later (for Instagram planning & scheduling), and Hashtag Lists for top performing hashtags for just about every topic and category you can imagine.
Need Help with Social Media Management?
Does this sound like a full-time job? Let a social media manager handle all the details for you. Perfect Partner Solutions is a digital marketing agency with the expertise to help achieve the results you want, whether it’s increasing sales, guiding traffic to your website, or building brand visibility. Contact us today to plan an effective social media strategy.