social media strategy

what is a social media strategy?

A social media strategy is a documented, agreed upon outline of your social media goals, the tactics and strategies you will use to reach those goals, and they ways you will measure and track your progress.

Keys to a successful social media strategy require making the connection between your organization’s overall goals and your social media goals, and knowing which metrics and KPIs should be tracked and measured to gauge your success and identify where changes should be made.

why invest in a social media strategy?

Companies know they need to be on social media, but the responsibility for keeping social media channels running often lies with a team member who has other primary responsibilities. Even when someone is assigned to run social media, it’s often handled ad hoc, with requests from other team members to put something out, checking a box without considering how that time and effort pays off.

Having a documented social media strategy ensures that your messaging is clear, with the ability for real-time message testing and A/B testing that can even be applied to overall marketing efforts. It ensures consistency of voice by setting clear guidelines on what to talk about and how to represent what you’re talking about. It enables the long-term planning of sustained campaigns that drive awareness, build credibility and possible drive leads.

the benefits of a good social media strategy

Investing in a social media strategy means getting the highest return on the time and effort spent on your social media which, when done right, helps boost:

Brand Awareness and Loyalty: Social media enables two-way engagement with customers and clients, putting a positive virtual face on your brand that keeps people coming back, sharing your content and increasing your visibility.

Sales Leads: Social media has higher rates of engagement than email, websites or landing pages. It also gives your organization targeting and contact information built-in, the ability to target specific locations and demographics, and empowers your team to search and find potential leads, rather than waiting for them to come to you.

Media Pickups: Reporters are on social media and often leaning or even relying on posts to pick up on news, rather than relying on the flood of press releases in their inbox. Social media is also optimized for search, so reporters use it to see what’s going on in their beat. You can provide value to reporters and meet them where they are, sharing top-line, attention-grabbing takeaways that lead to interviews.

social media strategy best practices

There are four keys to creating an effective social media strategy:

1. Align goals to the organization’s overall goals.

Your social media efforts should be in lock-step with your organization’s overall goals. If you’re going into a quarter focused on a specific opportunity, your social goals should align with that

2. Audit your current social media to establish baselines.

Before a post is written, you must dive into the numbers and see where your current social efforts, if any, are performing now. Comparing those numbers to overall industry numbers—such as average engagement rates, reach growth, and follower growth rates—give you the context to set smart goals.

3. Continually track KPIs and adjust based on metrics.

Once you’ve established those baselines and know what you want to track, you can pull the monthly metrics provided by each platform or your CRM, like HubSpot, so you can double down on what’s working and eliminate what isn’t.

4. Create and consistently use a content calendar.

Having a calendar ensures that your organization is looking ahead and capitalizing on opportunities, while preventing the kind of ad hoc posting that doesn’t move the needle.

What to expect of our social media strategy services

Inspire Agency’s team has years of deep experience in social media strategy, with social algorithms acumen that gets your posts noticed.

We’re committed to continuous improvement, and are always tracking and reporting on what’s working and what isn’t, so you know exactly what you’re getting out of your social media efforts.

And we know how to operate efficiently: knowing where your audience is and not wasting time or resources on non-needle moving efforts.

Contact us today so we can help design a social media strategy for your unique needs.