With over 2 billion active social media users, maintaining an active presence on these networks is crucial to getting in front of your ideal audience. You see, more consumers want to engage and connect with their favorite brands on social. One-third of millenials state they actually prefer to communicate with brands on social media (Source: Business2Community). Developing a strong social media marketing strategy will help boost brand awareness, increase followership, drive traffic to your website and generate leads for your sales funnel. In 2017, no brand should be without a plan that actively places their business on social media. Here are five simple yet profound steps to creating your social strategy to build a stronger presence today.

1. 5 Steps To Developing A Strong Social Media Strategy

2. With over 2 billion active social media users, maintaining an active presence on these
networks is crucial to getting in front of your ideal audience. You see, more consumers
want to engage and connect with their favorite brands on social. One-third of
millenials state they actually prefer to communicate with brands on social media
(Source: Business2Community).
Developing a strong social media marketing strategy will help boost brand awareness,
increase followership, drive traffic to your website and generate leads for your sales
funnel. In 2017, no brand should be without a plan that actively places their business
on social media.
Here are five simple yet profound steps to creating your social strategy to build a
stronger presence today.

3. Step #1 Be Clear on Your Target Audience
Knowing and understanding your target audience is the prerequisite to a working
content marketing strategy. It’s important to know who you’re aiming to reach in your
marketing so you can focus your efforts on engaging and connecting with that
audience.
The best way is be developing buyer personas. During this process, you’ll outline the
pains, challenges, and interests of your ideal customer so you can align your content
to meet their needs.

4. Step #2 Know Your Social Media Goals
Every post that you publish on your social networks must have a goal…an intent.
Do you want to drive traffic to your blog site?
Are you seeking engagement (i.e. likes, shares, and comments)?
Do you want to build your leads list?
Having clarity on your goal helps you tailor your content in a way that focuses on
meeting that specific goal.

5. Step #3 Share Engaging Content
Sharing valuable content is at the heart of any working inbound marketing strategy.
By offering your advice, tips, and expertise, you position your brand as an expert and
attract prospects to your business. This same concept applies to your social media
marketing strategy. The goal is not to solely promote your products but to share value
so your followers view your brand as a credible source in the industry.

6. Here are a few ways to sharing engaging content on social media:
•Capitalize on the engagement live-streaming videos. People are spending 3 times
longer watching live videos versus those that have been prerecorded (Source: Social
Media Today). Go live by hosting Q&A sessions, sharing a recent blog topic, or taking
viewers behind-the-scenes at an event
•Ramp up on images. Many studies prove that social media messages with images
capture more attention than those without. High-quality images that exude your
brand, appropriate memes and GIFs, infographics, and image quotes are excellent
content pieces to get followers interacting with your message
•Increase your reach with organic video uploads. A recent study reports
•Post your blog link. Social media drive tons of traffic to blog content. When posting
your link, be sure to use an image that populates from your blog post. This way, when
users click on the photo, they’ll be directed to your blog content

7. Step #4 Be Social
Refrain from simply sharing content and hoping people interact. Be social! Besides,
this is social media. Comment, like and share your follower’s content. When fans react
to your content, highlight them in the comments. Also, message customers and
prospects personally to show appreciation for their support. You’ll be amazed at how
these personal touches will give you the slight edge with your audience.

8. Step #5 Test your results
When executing your strategy, you want to test your efforts to ensure what you’re
doing is actually working and resonates with your audience. Leveraging a social media
management tool like Hootsuite or Buffer allows you to access analytics that shares
which posts are generating engagement…and those that are not.
This is invaluable information as you’ll determine which content to focus on and give
your audience more of what they want.

9. Conclusion
Implementing this guide is a strong move towards enhancing your social media
strategy. As a result, you’ll experience an increase in brand awareness, followers,
engagement, and leads!
Are you ready to bolster your social media marketing strategy for 2017? Reach out to
us here and let’s chat! We’re equipped to help get you to your next level on social
media.

10. Conclusion
Implementing this guide is a strong move towards enhancing your social media
strategy. As a result, you’ll experience an increase in brand awareness, followers,
engagement, and leads!
Are you ready to bolster your social media marketing strategy for 2017? Reach out to
us here and let’s chat! We’re equipped to help get you to your next level on social
media.