The value marketers place on social media continues to grow.
According to a 2014 survey report, 92 percent of marketers see social media as being important to their business – up from 86 percent the year before.
Drilling down further into that report, we see that four of the top five questions marketers have about social media relate to efficiency. They want to know how to be more efficient on social media.
In this 2 part series, we’ll explore 6 steps to social media efficiency. Here in Part 1, we’ll discuss 3 preparatory elements of social media efficiency.
1. Establish your goal.
Social media is one of the easiest things to lose focus on. After all, it’s all about engagement. And just as you’re trying to get your audience to engage with you, others are trying to get you to engage with them. Of course, engagement is a two-way street, but you can’t allow that to interfere with your own social media goals, not to mention the rest of your schedule.
There are three businesses can use social media for:
- Attract followers
- Generate traffic or leads
- Build and maintain relationships
While most businesses would like to accomplish all three, it’s best to focus on just one. Don’t worry, the other two will also happen naturally, just to a lesser degree. By clearly identifying the primary goal of your social media presence, you’ll be able to narrow your focus and increase your efficiency.
2. Identify your target.
The same exuberance that causes entrepreneurs to see opportunity everywhere can also cause them to pursue every opportunity they see. The result? Usually failure. There are really two messages here:
- Identify the market you want to reach. Sometimes, the nature of the product dictates the target market. On the other hand, some products have broad appeal. But just because you think everyone can benefit from a particular product doesn’t necessarily mean you should target everyone.
- Identify one or two social media networks. Many social media marketers try to engage on too many social media networks at once. But it’s more efficient to master one or two, then add more later. Of course, you must choose the networks you use with your target market in mind. For example, if they’re not on Pinterest, don’t waste time using Pinterest.
So, identify your target market and the best social media outlets to use.
3. Create an editorial calendar.
One of the most important elements of successful social media marketing is consistency. You can’t expect success posting once or twice a week. And posting willy-nilly won’t cut it either.
Consistency requires scheduling. That’s where an editorial calendar comes in. You can make your editorial calendar as simple or as complicated as your needs demand. The main point here is to create one, and follow it.
In Part 2 of this series, we’ll discuss 3 operational elements of social media efficiency.
Meanwhile, for help creating a digital marketing strategy that achieves measurable results, contact us online or you can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.