In our Business Social Media Part 1 post we covered how to select your social media channels and what to keep in mind as you set up social media profiles for your business. Now for my favorite part of social media — the strategy!
Step 3: Find your voice and tone
Before you jump into sharing and posting, you need to establish a consistent voice for your business social media interactions.
Marketing personas are often useful for this. They help you hone in on who your customer is. If you don’t have personas for you company already, no worries! Personas are easy to set up and really useful in your marketing activities.
Think of your brand as a person… What kind of personality would it have? How do you want you prospective customers to think about your company? What kind of a relationship do you want to have with your consumers — friend, coach, teacher, class clown?
If you cultivate a voice that delights your customers, they will spread the love as raving fans.
Step 4: Pick your posting strategy
This is usually the part that’s really scary to begin with. You mind is filled with questions like “What do I post? How often? When?”
The answer: It depends.
The answers to all of those questions depend on your market. You audience and niche are unique, so what works for your friend may not work for you. Fortunately there’s some really great data out there to help you. Remember that successful business social media is a harmonious union of amazing content, perfect timing and ideal frequency.
- Social media is a visual medium. On Facebook, photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links. The same is true for Google+ and Twitter. Using different types of posts will keep your audience interested and engaged.
- There are a lot of studies out there, but a great place to start is one post per day on Facebook and Google+ and three per day on Twitter. Then measure, adjust and repeat.
- Schedule your posts when your target market is online. There are great statistics out there about when people use different social networks. However, one of the best ways to figure out when to post is to think about what a day in the life looks like for your target consumer. Do they get up early or late? Do they roll out of bed and check their smartphone? Do they surf the internet on their lunch break? You can also use tools like Followerwonk to see when your followers are online (hint: you need followers first).
Step 5: Develop a planning calendar
Your planning calendar should be done each month and will include:
- The number of posts per day per social network
- The time the posts will be made
- The content of each post
Your planning calendar lays the foundation for your business social media plan. It is your guide to maintaining your social sites and ensures regular posting. The most common pitfall for businesses is lack of consistency. There is always excitement at the beginning, but that momentum can fade quickly. Your monthly planning calendar will help to keep your social media efforts moving forward.
