As young twenty-something professionals in the marketing industry, there’s no doubt that social media is a very integrated part of your everyday life. Unfortunately, there can be a large disconnect for many brands and businesses. They may not understand the ins and outs of social media strategy and have a hard time finding a good place to start. If this sounds familiar, there are a few key tips you can follow to help utilize social media and make it an effective tool for your business.

First, let’s cover a few facts about social media and why it’s so important. Did you know that Facebook has 1.9 billion active users each month? Although Facebook greatly surpasses the other social media channels, they are not to be ignored. For example, Instagram has 700 million active users each month with Twitter not far behind at 328 million. Another staggering fact? The average person will spend nearly two hours on social media each day! That’s a lot of time that your brand could be utilizing for marketing products and services.

So, how to get started? Posting content to post content is not enough with the cluttered newsfeeds we see today. You’ll save yourself time AND money in the long run by creating a well thought-out strategy before you start posting.

  • Know your purpose
    Objectives and goals are always important to consider with any type of marketing strategy. Are you trying to increase sales or are you just looking for general brand awareness? What metrics will you use to measure success? What content would your audience find useful? These are all important questions to ask and will help you create meaningful content later.
  • Know your audience
    Another important thing to ask is who are you trying to reach on social media. Are you a business to business (B2B) brand or are you consumer facing? If you aren’t sure, create a few customer personas that include demographics, interests, paint points, etc. to help you understand your audience.
  • Don’t let your strategy get stale
    Social media can change in the blink of an eye. Reevaluate your strategy every month or two to make sure you’re staying up-to-date on the latest trends and still reaching your ideal customer. Additionally, keep an eye on social media trends and jump on them if they are appropriate for your brand. But, of course, always be mindful of budget and return on investments (ROIs) before doing this.
  • You don’t have to do it all
    There are so many social media platforms available and it can become overwhelming pretty quickly. Remember, you don’t have to be on every channel if it doesn’t make sense for your brand. Start with Facebook to get your feet wet and then reevaluate in a few months to see if your audience might be on other channels.

Still interested in learning more about digital media and how to incorporate it into your brand’s marketing strategy? Come to our next event Diving Into Digital Integration, Tuesday, Nov. 14, with Shane Brossard, the marketing director at the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. We can’t wait to see everyone there!