Now that you are reading this article, I‘d like to ask you a question: Is your brand (the one you work for) connected to social media? No matter what the answer is, here are the steps for creating a digital communication strategy for your business.
Why social media?
When we say social media a variety of digital methods come to our minds. These methods help you place yourself as close as possible to your audience. We recommend that your business strategy contains social media notions. Because your brand will become more easily recognized due to a well-defined digital overview.
Being online allows you to be connected with your community all the time. It also gives you the possibility to get to other people that are interested in the same field that you are in.
What is social media useful for and how can it help you?
Social media will always be changing. Online means always testing new features. Analyze the way your community reacts to them, and watch the results carefully. This way the audience will perceive you as an up-to-date brand. There is no successful recipe when it comes to social media.
The know-how offers you expertise, but there is no generally accepted strategy to apply to any brand. If a brand performs well online in a certain direction this does not mean that your brand will have the same success. Even if you apply the same strategy or communication directions.
Being active online can help you increase brand awareness. It can offer you good visibility to get to varied audiences more easily. To have an advantage in client support, as you can answer your client’s needs in a relatively short time and your brand will be well-rated.
Moreover, you can increase leads based on the preset communication objectives. Last but not least, you can increase the number of conversions in your digital marketing strategy.
What to watch when we develop a social media strategy?
First, it is vital to know the brand very well. Also, its field, and its history, to understand the way it was placed for the last period.
This paragraph addresses marketers, not the ones who are business owners and know the brand in detail.
Next, it is important to establish how we place the brand online. Whether it is about Facebook, Instagram, or other platforms, we need to duplicate the business objectives correctly in our online communication. We need to set an optimized tracking mode to see the results which will help you make new organizational decisions.
The steps of creating a social media strategy
1. Setting relevant KPI`s to be followed during the entire strategy implementation period. Starting from the general business objectives
If we want to increase brand visibility our objective will be related to brand awareness. If we want to get to a new segment audience, then our communication will be focused on delivering relevant content to the target audience. So that they react positively to the information delivered.
If we want to increase sales, then we will focus on generating website traffic. We have to get familiar with the preexistent content and to achieve possible conversions.
2. Establishing client persona
There is a varied audience in social media with different interests and behaviors. A well-defined social demographic profile will help any business. It will help to address the ones interested in the brand/ products or the services.
To increase brand notoriety and visibility firstly, we recommend a general audience. But if you want to communicate to a segmented audience you will have the possibility to follow the pre-established communication directions. To increase brand confidence to build consumer loyalty or to change them into a client according to the content that you are delivering.
3. Creating communication directions
Communication directions are the base of a digital strategy. They help you set a communicative workflow. Using them you choose what and how you deliver to your audience. According to the nature of your business, communication directions will vary. Here are some points that can be followed:
- Presenting brand/ product or service benefits in a friendly or formal manner, according to the brand’s tone of voice.
- Use specific content promoting brand differentiators or products/services.
- Create attractive content so that the brand will stick to the client’s minds as a good source of information (Did you know that…, surveys and others).
- Creating engaging posts (GIFs, 360 photos, 3D, crosswords, spot the differences, etc.).
- Connect the brand with events in the same industry or with actions that can attract new followers in your community.
- Create call-to-action posts that can ask the community open questions to find out their opinion about the brand or the services. Also to find out about the brand field of action curiosities.
4. Developing a content marketing plan based on communication pillars
Starting from the established communication directions, it is important to present your content as a whole to your audience. Every direction can be introduced into a communication pillar. Which will present information on a certain topic with a constant frequency. For example, the Did you know that…? Information can be a part of a series that will present curiosities related to the brand every Friday. If we talk about a communication pillar that promotes company employees, then the frequency of this direction can be one per month or week. It can be about each employee for the humanization of the brand or increasing brand confidence.
Users easily recognize communication pillars. Usually, if they are presented as a significant hashtag (#PeopleOf…, #InfographicFriday, etc). Or as a graphic element ( photographic frame or certain background colors associated with the communication direction). Because these will constantly appear in the readers’ eyes and they will immediately react to that content as they will already be used to it.
5. Allott a promotion budget to create content on social media platforms
To place yourself correctly on online platforms it is recommended to allow a budget for promotion. So that your content could get to a significant number of people to increase brand visibility. Each content represents a good source to attract customers that could become brand fans or consumers for the provided services.
Conclusion:
Your brand should have a dedicated online strategy, not only a classic marketing one. If you follow the steps presented above, your brand will get a professional online image, and this is an advantage in placing yourself on the market.
About the author
