However, in this area, too, it is not about carrying out “any” social media activities, but rather about setting one’s focus correctly. Those who throw themselves into the right social media activities in their daily work increase their chances of achieving “real” success through social media marketing, namely many times over!
Define personas
Before you start choosing the (supposedly) right social media channels, you should first define and summarize WHO your target group is within social media.
Is your target group a certain age ?
What are the interests of your target group?
Which comparable pages is your target group already following?
Many questions could – and should – be added to this list. The more questions are asked at this point, the sooner you and yourself will get a feeling for HOW your company’s persona looks on social media. The more precise the statements about your own target group, the better the company’s social media activities can be adapted.
Choosing the right social media platforms
The next step is to select the right social media platforms, because: only if we know what our target group looks like can we actually find and address them on the respective social media channels!
It should be noted that not every target or age group is equally represented on the respective platforms. Anyone who is completely new to this field should read this detailed article on social media usage in Germany . Based on these observations, in the next step you should commit yourself to the social media channels on which your target group is really represented. A little tip: do not commit yourself to too many channels! Although the motivation is huge in most cases, the selected social media channels also have to be permanently filled with content. Depending on the size of the team, this can become a real problem or even a complete social media marketing “killer”!
Collect social media content ideas
A large part of your own social media activities should be spent collecting suitable content ideas. The aim is to find or generate content ideas that deliver added value to your own target group. In addition, the collected content should match the respective social media platform or the way in which it is communicated. A social media strategy in which only the same content is presented or “copied in” on all social media channels rarely leads to success. The algorithms of the respective social media channels are too developed for this and the needs of the respective user groups are too different. For us, it’s about recognizing these needs and packing the message from your own company that you want to convey in such a way that Create editorial plan and maintain it continuously
As soon as you have “brainstormed” enough content, you should collect these ideas in a clear editorial plan. On the one hand, this step ensures that the marketing activities become clearer. On the other hand, a well-maintained editorial plan usually means that content is regularly online. The latter is particularly important, as your own success within social media is closely related to the regular publication of fresh content!
You can either design the social media editorial plan yourself or you can choose one of the many templates that you can find in Google and work with it. It is important that there are clear rules within the team about HOW worked in the joint editorial plan and, above all, WHO is allowed or should work within the plan at all.
Define the right goals for your own company
Those who start up their own social media activities can expect not only success, but in the worst case also a lot of disappointment. Every day companies end their “adventure” on social media with the statement that the corresponding ROI has not yet materialized and that their own expectations of social media marketing have been completely different. Although the latter in particular is dependent on a large number of factors, in our experience the lack of clearly formulated goals in particular leads to the social media presence of one’s own company being questioned after a very short time.
Therefore the tip: as a team, you should define goals together at the beginning of your own social media efforts!
You should make sure that the goals are aligned with your company. After all, it doesn’t make sense to focus on the objectives of other companies, as the starting point is different for each company. In addition to likes, shares, followers and interactions, the views of a special page, the number of comments and ratings and of course direct conversions can also be measured – and therefore also output as a goal. Which values are decisive for your company?
Continuous evaluation of your own social media activities
Once your own goals have been formulated, the activities that should lead to the achievement of those goals must of course also be regularly evaluated. For us, it is a matter of continuously analyzing whether our content is achieving the desired effects and will enable us to achieve our goals. In connection with this point, the following key questions can be asked:
What content is best received by our community? Which posts get the most shares, likes and comments?
Which content achieves the most reach within the respective channel?
Is the effort required to create the respective content in relation to what the respective category of posts actually brings?
Answering these questions can be a first indicator of whether you are on the right track with your content ideas. If you notice that one category of content is more popular than the other, you should adapt your own editorial plan accordingly. After all, you create content for your own community and not for your own ego! If your own followers give you feedback on your own content, you should deal responsibly with this feedback and take the appropriate measures – this is the only way to get your own content better and your own community bigger!
Interact with your own community
Creating content for social media and uploading it regularly is one thing. Communicating continuously with your own community is a completely different one. However, the second makes the difference between a “good” and a “very good” social media presence!
Social media channels thrive on the communication that takes place on them. As a company, you should never forget that social media was not created for us companies, but for the users of the respective platforms. The users of the platforms want to use the core idea of ”communication” not only in relation to one another, but also in connection with the companies present on the platforms. The old patterns of one- way communication, where the company speaks – e.g. in the form of TV advertising – and the consumer simply listens, have long since been broken up with the help of social media. Customers and potential customers want to communicate with us companies and do so at regular intervals. An important part of our social media activities is to meet this need and to react promptly to comments, requests and criticism from our community. If you don’t do this, the social media area quickly loses its effect and the channels only become places where you regularly download your content. In any case, there is no ROI or even a close connection to your own community!
Set an ad budget
One can philosophize a lot about algorithms and the gradual throttling of the organic reach on Facebook . Exactly how an algorithm works, however, cannot be made, as these secrets are not disclosed by the platform operators. The fact is: you can use ads to increase your own reach of the posts on the respective platforms. And that’s exactly why you should use ads and add them to your own social media activities!
Logical: Ads cost money and thus further increase your company’s marketing expenses. The option of not driving ads and trying to penetrate your target group only “organically” is not in most cases, however. Even with accounts of several thousand followers, the reach of your own posts is usually subterranean. This fact is all the more annoying the more energy you put into the production of your own content. After all, the content of your own company should be seen by your own target group, even if it has been created in a complex manner. Ads do not make your own content better, but at least ensure that it is seen by your target group.
Always keep an eye out for cooperation
Your own social media activities should also be shaped by the “idea of cooperation”. Especially for new social media presences that have few or few followers, cooperations are a good way to increase your own reach at an above-average rate. When looking for suitable cooperation partners, you should proceed systematically and write to companies or sites whose target group actually provides you with added value. In the best case, your companies even have the same target group without offering the same product.
In addition to simply sharing your post, you can work together, for example, to develop a joint competition in which the community receives a great prize. Here you can let your creativity run wild and come up with a competition that you would like to take part in yourself!
Expand your own social media presence with new channels
New ones are added every year to the existing social media platforms. That doesn’t mean that as a company you have to jump on every platform. However, you should keep a close eye on which channel could be relevant for you and your company. Whenever a new channel is founded, a very special target group is always addressed. For example, Snapchat has managed to win over a very young target group. So if we were a company that wants to address a very young target group, Snapchat could possibly be extremely important for us and we may have to expand our social media presence to include the Snapchat channel. Here it is important to keep your eyes open and pay less attention to “trends” and “hype”,Meet social media marketing strategy .
Update your own profiles regularly
Last but not least, you should make sure that your social media profiles are up to date. In a company, the telephone numbers and contact persons are constantly changing. And your own branding is also repainted from time to time. Here you should act promptly and avoid confusion that could arise from conflicting information. With free programs like Canva you can also easily customize your header and profile pictures on the respective social media channels and create great designs in a few simple steps .