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Social Media Strategy: How it changes your business! (Template included)

Globalist

7/6/2023

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Reading time: 14 min

The most important facts in brief
  • A social media marketing strategy is important for companies to achieve their marketing goals, gain enormous reach and strengthen customer loyalty
  • Developing a social media strategy involves setting specific, goals, understanding the audience, choosing the appropriate platforms and creating consistent and high quality content
  • It is important to react to interactions and regularly adjust the social media strategy based on performance measurements
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What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is helpful when using social networks to achieve your social media goals. By now, such a strategy should be an important component of a company's marketing.

Why is a social media concept so important?

A social media strategy is essential as it enables your company to gain an enormous reach through social media activities.

It also strengthens customer loyalty through direct and relaxed interaction between brand and user. It also gives you a valuable insight into the preferences of the target group and allows you to work on targeted improvements to products and services.

Above all, the concept should be part of the overall marketing strategy, as the platform now offers direct sales opportunities, fast responses and precise tracking. The consideration of individual target group needs is crucial here.

7 steps to a successful social media strategy

Step 1: Set your goals!

Important: Setting business objectives or social media goals is always the first step in any social media strategy. These goals give you an idea of what you want to achieve. Start here with the question: What do you want to achieve for your company with your social media presence?

Possible goals could be to increase brand awareness, generate leads, improve customer service or sell products directly. The goals can be varied, but they should definitely be SMART! They should be specific (S), measurable (M), attractive (A), relevant and time-bound (T).

Specific:

Every goal must be clearly defined. For example: "I want to gain 1000 additional followers in the next 6 months." This way, you have a clear number in front of you and know where you want to go.

Measurable:

It is important that you are able to measure success. On social media, you can do this through followers, likes, shares or sales.

Attractive:

The goals should also be attractive or achievable. They should be ambitious or challenging and yet realistic to achieve.

Relevant:

Each goal should fit in with the company's overall marketing strategy.

Scheduled:

Your goals should be timed, i.e. when do you want to achieve your goal?

The Smart Model: Specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and scheduled

Step 2: Find out who the audience is!

To be successful in social media, a comprehensive target group analysis is essential. Who are they? What are they interested in? What problems do they have that you can solve? Which social media platforms do they prefer?

How does this knowledge benefit you? Quite simply, it helps you to create exactly the content that your specific target group wants to see.

Use data and analytics tools to identify demographic information, behaviors and interests of your followers. Social media offers direct feedback through comments or surveys. Use this to get even better insights!

It's important that you don't stop here! Social media is super fast-moving and so are the needs and habits of your audience. Force yourself to constantly understand and analyze your target group anew. This way you can adapt and optimize your strategy.

Step 3: Which platforms are used?

Choosing the right networks is an essential aspect of an effective social media strategy.

Important! It is not important to be present on every platform, but it is important to choose the channels on which your target group is most active.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok - each of these platforms has its own special features, its own user groups and its own formats for content marketing. Each platform requires a slightly different social media marketing strategy. For example, Instagram may be ideal for visually appealing content, while LinkedIn is better suited for business-related content.

In addition, your social media strategy should be considered as part of your overall media strategy and broader online marketing plan. For example, integrating social media and email marketing can increase the effectiveness of both channels. You could use social media to drive subscriptions to your email list.

Ultimately, the choice of social media platforms should be based on a thorough knowledge of your target audience and fit into your overall marketing strategy.

Overview and data of the most popular social media platforms

Step 4: Bring your brand to life

Your brand is more than just a logo or a slogan. It's the personality and story of your company that creates emotions and connections with your customers. And there is hardly a better place to bring your brand to life than on social media channels.

A strong social media strategy focuses on creating consistent, high-quality social media content that reflects your brand identity and aligns with your goals. Each piece of content should highlight a facet of your brand and encourage interaction with your audience. Keep in mind that the media you use should reinforce your brand message.

At the same time, your social media strategy should ensure that you are consistent across all channels. Your brand message, visual style and tone of voice should be consistent across all platforms you are active on.

A helpful model for this step is the "Golden Circle" by Simon Sinnek. He says that people don't buy what you do, but why you do it.

What is the vision, what strategy do we need to realize the vision and what specific tasks do we need to implement for our social media strategy?

Step 5: Timing is everything!

Timing is absolutely crucial. It's not just about what you post, but also when you post it. Time can be crucial in ensuring that your content achieves the greatest possible visibility and interaction.

In order to determine the ideal time to publish your social media measures, it is important to understand the behavior of your target group. When are they online and most active? There are general guidelines for the best times to post on different platforms, but the specific habits of your target audience may differ. Use analytics tools to find out the behavior of your target audience.

Balancing the frequency of your posts is also an important step in your social media strategy. An excess of posts could flood your followers and cause them to unfollow you, while too few posts could cause you to be forgotten.

Overview of when it is best to post on which platform

Step 6: Monitoring and interaction

Effective community management is essential to build trust and loyalty with your followers. Monitoring your social media includes tracking likes, shares and comments. It helps you understand which content is performing well and which is not, and gives you valuable insights to adjust your social media marketing strategy.

But monitoring is only the first step. Active interaction - replying to comments, responding to questions and feedback, sharing user-generated content - is at least as important. This can create a real relationship with your customers and make you more accessible.

Remember that every interaction, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to strengthen your brand and build trust. Even negative feedback is an opportunity to respond in a professional and solution-oriented manner, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Step 7: Fine-tuning on the way to the tip.

There's no standing still on social media - and the same goes for your social media strategy. Even if you have a solid plan and are sharing quality content, it's important to regularly review and adjust your social media efforts. This is the key to constantly improving your social media presence and getting to the top.

You can use a variety of tools to help you measure your performance. These tools can provide you with valuable data, such as what type of content is best received by your audience, at what times they are most active, or how your number of followers develops over time.

But it's not just about collecting data, it's also about interpreting it and acting accordingly. For example, if you find that certain types of content are particularly well received, you should consider how you can integrate more of them into your content marketing plan.

It is also important to pay attention to changes and trends in the social media landscape. New platforms, functions or user habits can open up new opportunities, but also require adjustments to your strategy.

Template for your social media strategy

Download our free Excel template now and create your own social media strategy.

Examples of a successful social media strategy

True Fruits

True Fruits, a well-known smoothie brand from Germany, has made a name for themselves through their unique and provocative social media strategy. The key to their success lies in their ability to capture the attention of their audience while building a loyal fan base.

The brand uses provocative and humorous content that often challenges social norms and addresses controversial topics. This type of content, which often stimulates viral discussions, increases True Fruits' visibility and ensures that it remains in the minds of consumers.

True Fruits is not only known for its bold advertising campaigns, but also for its authenticity and consistency. They stay true to their brand image and communicate in a way that matches their brand personality: direct, blunt and often with an ironic undertone. This consistent communication has helped to establish a strong brand image and build a loyal following.

Another important aspect of their social media strategy is the interaction with their audience. True Fruits takes the time to respond to comments and opinions on social media, which shows that they value and respond to feedback from their community. This encourages engagement and strengthens the community's bond with the brand.

Finally, True Fruits uses creative storytelling and visual elements to present its products in an appealing and memorable way.

However, it is important to note that True Fruits' approach is not free from controversy. Some of their campaigns have been criticized as inappropriate or offensive, highlighting that a successful social media strategy must also take into account the values and expectations of the target audience.

Starbucks

Starbucks' successful social media marketing strategy combines various factors to create a strong online presence and an engaged community. Central to their success is strong community engagement. Not only do they respond to comments, but they also share social media content from customers, creating a strong sense of community.

The consistency of your brand presentation across all platforms plays a crucial role in your social media strategy. Their clearly identifiable visual content helps to reinforce their brand identity. In addition, the company utilizes user-generated content, which contributes to the authenticity of their brand and builds customer trust.

Their storytelling reflects their brand values such as sustainability and community. Starbucks is known for its commitment to socially relevant issues and emphasizes its social responsibility.

They also use their social media channels in marketing to promote new products and offers and take advantage of seasonality for special campaigns, such as their popular seasonal drinks.

Check out this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Nature Conservancy (@nature_org)

Frequently asked questions

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy defines how content is created, distributed and optimized in order to achieve a company's social media goals. It includes planning, content production and analysis of the results.

What role does influencer marketing play in a social media strategy?

Influencer marketing is an important component in increasing the reach and credibility of a brand. Targeted collaborations with influencers allow specific networks and target groups to be addressed effectively.

How do I start with content planning?

Content planning starts with a target group analysis to understand the needs of the target group. Topics, categories and suitable formats are then defined to ensure consistent and effective communication.

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is helpful when using social networks to achieve your social media goals. By now, such a strategy should be an important component of a company's marketing.

Why is a social media concept so important?

A social media strategy is essential as it enables your company to gain an enormous reach through social media activities.

It also strengthens customer loyalty through direct and relaxed interaction between brand and user. It also gives you a valuable insight into the preferences of the target group and allows you to work on targeted improvements to products and services.

Above all, the concept should be part of the overall marketing strategy, as the platform now offers direct sales opportunities, fast responses and precise tracking. The consideration of individual target group needs is crucial here.

7 steps to a successful social media strategy

Step 1: Set your goals!

Important: Setting business objectives or social media goals is always the first step in any social media strategy. These goals give you an idea of what you want to achieve. Start here with the question: What do you want to achieve for your company with your social media presence?

Possible goals could be to increase brand awareness, generate leads, improve customer service or sell products directly. The goals can be varied, but they should definitely be SMART! They should be specific (S), measurable (M), attractive (A), relevant and time-bound (T).

Specific:

Every goal must be clearly defined. For example: "I want to gain 1000 additional followers in the next 6 months." This way, you have a clear number in front of you and know where you want to go.

Measurable:

It is important that you are able to measure success. On social media, you can do this through followers, likes, shares or sales.

Attractive:

The goals should also be attractive or achievable. They should be ambitious or challenging and yet realistic to achieve.

Relevant:

Each goal should fit in with the company's overall marketing strategy.

Scheduled:

Your goals should be timed, i.e. when do you want to achieve your goal?

The Smart Model: Specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and scheduled

Step 2: Find out who the audience is!

To be successful in social media, a comprehensive target group analysis is essential. Who are they? What are they interested in? What problems do they have that you can solve? Which social media platforms do they prefer?

How does this knowledge benefit you? Quite simply, it helps you to create exactly the content that your specific target group wants to see.

Use data and analytics tools to identify demographic information, behaviors and interests of your followers. Social media offers direct feedback through comments or surveys. Use this to get even better insights!

It's important that you don't stop here! Social media is super fast-moving and so are the needs and habits of your audience. Force yourself to constantly understand and analyze your target group anew. This way you can adapt and optimize your strategy.

Step 3: Which platforms are used?

Choosing the right networks is an essential aspect of an effective social media strategy.

Important! It is not important to be present on every platform, but it is important to choose the channels on which your target group is most active.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok - each of these platforms has its own special features, its own user groups and its own formats for content marketing. Each platform requires a slightly different social media marketing strategy. For example, Instagram may be ideal for visually appealing content, while LinkedIn is better suited for business-related content.

In addition, your social media strategy should be considered as part of your overall media strategy and broader online marketing plan. For example, integrating social media and email marketing can increase the effectiveness of both channels. You could use social media to drive subscriptions to your email list.

Ultimately, the choice of social media platforms should be based on a thorough knowledge of your target audience and fit into your overall marketing strategy.

Overview and data of the most popular social media platforms

Step 4: Bring your brand to life

Your brand is more than just a logo or a slogan. It's the personality and story of your company that creates emotions and connections with your customers. And there is hardly a better place to bring your brand to life than on social media channels.

A strong social media strategy focuses on creating consistent, high-quality social media content that reflects your brand identity and aligns with your goals. Each piece of content should highlight a facet of your brand and encourage interaction with your audience. Keep in mind that the media you use should reinforce your brand message.

At the same time, your social media strategy should ensure that you are consistent across all channels. Your brand message, visual style and tone of voice should be consistent across all platforms you are active on.

A helpful model for this step is the "Golden Circle" by Simon Sinnek. He says that people don't buy what you do, but why you do it.

What is the vision, what strategy do we need to realize the vision and what specific tasks do we need to implement for our social media strategy?

Step 5: Timing is everything!

Timing is absolutely crucial. It's not just about what you post, but also when you post it. Time can be crucial in ensuring that your content achieves the greatest possible visibility and interaction.

In order to determine the ideal time to publish your social media measures, it is important to understand the behavior of your target group. When are they online and most active? There are general guidelines for the best times to post on different platforms, but the specific habits of your target audience may differ. Use analytics tools to find out the behavior of your target audience.

Balancing the frequency of your posts is also an important step in your social media strategy. An excess of posts could flood your followers and cause them to unfollow you, while too few posts could cause you to be forgotten.

Overview of when it is best to post on which platform

Step 6: Monitoring and interaction

Effective community management is essential to build trust and loyalty with your followers. Monitoring your social media includes tracking likes, shares and comments. It helps you understand which content is performing well and which is not, and gives you valuable insights to adjust your social media marketing strategy.

But monitoring is only the first step. Active interaction - replying to comments, responding to questions and feedback, sharing user-generated content - is at least as important. This can create a real relationship with your customers and make you more accessible.

Remember that every interaction, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to strengthen your brand and build trust. Even negative feedback is an opportunity to respond in a professional and solution-oriented manner, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Step 7: Fine-tuning on the way to the tip.

There's no standing still on social media - and the same goes for your social media strategy. Even if you have a solid plan and are sharing quality content, it's important to regularly review and adjust your social media efforts. This is the key to constantly improving your social media presence and getting to the top.

You can use a variety of tools to help you measure your performance. These tools can provide you with valuable data, such as what type of content is best received by your audience, at what times they are most active, or how your number of followers develops over time.

But it's not just about collecting data, it's also about interpreting it and acting accordingly. For example, if you find that certain types of content are particularly well received, you should consider how you can integrate more of them into your content marketing plan.

It is also important to pay attention to changes and trends in the social media landscape. New platforms, functions or user habits can open up new opportunities, but also require adjustments to your strategy.

Template for your social media strategy

Download our free Excel template now and create your own social media strategy.

Examples of a successful social media strategy

True Fruits

True Fruits, a well-known smoothie brand from Germany, has made a name for themselves through their unique and provocative social media strategy. The key to their success lies in their ability to capture the attention of their audience while building a loyal fan base.

The brand uses provocative and humorous content that often challenges social norms and addresses controversial topics. This type of content, which often stimulates viral discussions, increases True Fruits' visibility and ensures that it remains in the minds of consumers.

True Fruits is not only known for its bold advertising campaigns, but also for its authenticity and consistency. They stay true to their brand image and communicate in a way that matches their brand personality: direct, blunt and often with an ironic undertone. This consistent communication has helped to establish a strong brand image and build a loyal following.

Another important aspect of their social media strategy is the interaction with their audience. True Fruits takes the time to respond to comments and opinions on social media, which shows that they value and respond to feedback from their community. This encourages engagement and strengthens the community's bond with the brand.

Finally, True Fruits uses creative storytelling and visual elements to present its products in an appealing and memorable way.

However, it is important to note that True Fruits' approach is not free from controversy. Some of their campaigns have been criticized as inappropriate or offensive, highlighting that a successful social media strategy must also take into account the values and expectations of the target audience.

Starbucks

Starbucks' successful social media marketing strategy combines various factors to create a strong online presence and an engaged community. Central to their success is strong community engagement. Not only do they respond to comments, but they also share social media content from customers, creating a strong sense of community.

The consistency of your brand presentation across all platforms plays a crucial role in your social media strategy. Their clearly identifiable visual content helps to reinforce their brand identity. In addition, the company utilizes user-generated content, which contributes to the authenticity of their brand and builds customer trust.

Their storytelling reflects their brand values such as sustainability and community. Starbucks is known for its commitment to socially relevant issues and emphasizes its social responsibility.

They also use their social media channels in marketing to promote new products and offers and take advantage of seasonality for special campaigns, such as their popular seasonal drinks.

Check out this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Nature Conservancy (@nature_org)

Frequently asked questions

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy defines how content is created, distributed and optimized in order to achieve a company's social media goals. It includes planning, content production and analysis of the results.

What role does influencer marketing play in a social media strategy?

Influencer marketing is an important component in increasing the reach and credibility of a brand. Targeted collaborations with influencers allow specific networks and target groups to be addressed effectively.

How do I start with content planning?

Content planning starts with a target group analysis to understand the needs of the target group. Topics, categories and suitable formats are then defined to ensure consistent and effective communication.

About the author
Globalist

As a partner for high visibility in search engines, advertising on Facebook and Instagram, among others. Of course, we also implement the individual services separately.

Rock your online store content!

Better rankings & more sales through perfect content for your target group

Download now for free
Globalist

As a partner for high visibility in search engines, advertising on Facebook and Instagram, among others. Of course, we also implement the individual services separately.

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