You know that feeling deep down. Your social media channels just aren’t working for you—but you’re not sure what to do about it.

And with so much in the world of social media always changing, it can be daunting to figure out what strategy will pay off for you. It takes time not only to learn what works on your social channels but also to craft compelling content and implement a consistent strategy—and often, time is what you have least of.

YOU NEED A SYSTEM, NOT JUST A GOAL

That’s why we start with a system.

As Scott Adams, the Dilbert creator, says, systems outperform goals. That’s because a goal can be little more than wishful thinking, but a system can consistently move you toward your goal.

Our system is designed to provide a tried-and-true framework for building out a social media strategy. It produces growth by bringing rigor and skill to all of the variables you can control. It considers what we know about human decision-making, content consumption, and what the brain craves, then links those insights to a business strategy that connects prospective clients to your product or service.

It’s a system that you can use, too—and it gets results! Ready?

Assess the industry and competition, to understand the context and learn what’s working for others.
Assess the business opportunity. How much competition is there in your industry? How badly do people need or want the product/service? The more the competition and the harder it is to make a sale, the more effort it will take to generate sales.
Develop personas. Who is the target audience—and what are their buying habits? What needs and yearnings does your product/service fulfill?
Clarify the brand sales pitch. Create the talking points that will be persuasive. Then prioritize them so you know which ones you want to make most often. This can be a list of 5 key selling points separated into primary and supporting messages which will become the backbone of your content development.
Review your website or landing page. How well does it sell? How easy is it for a prospect to find what they are looking for? If you are making people click three times from your social link to the desired destination, you’ll need to create an easier, more compelling journey on your website. Remember that viewers have SO little patience online, and if they must work too hard, they’ll abandon the journey unless they are in absolute need of what you’re selling.
Create a social media strategy overview that summarizes all of this and identifies your content mix. Outline how frequently each key brand message should cycle through your feeds. Since some will be more important than others, you’ll want those to appear more often. This becomes the planning framework that drives content.
Develop a social media calendar that builds on the messages. This calendar includes brand messages, channels, run dates, captions, recommended visuals, hashtags, and CTAs. The calendar should at a minimum cover 30 days. It’s also possible to create a longer one that leaves space for late-breaking content, which always happens!
Create the content and get the needed approvals before running it. (Be sure to identify who in your company needs to be on that list.) We also show the proposed images in a mockup with the current Instagram feed, to ensure visual flow and consistency, and frequently move things around once we see it. This is less of a concern on Facebook since it is not as visually driven as Instagram.
Post the content and observe. Which ones are popular? Why? And remember, it isn’t enough to have a post with lots of traffic if it doesn’t contribute to a business strategy. Getting conversions, or qualified leads, is the top priority. This is also the time to consider post frequency and timing, taking into account your available resources.
Review the results monthly to determine which content is performing the best and use those insights to improve future content packages.

A MINI CASE STUDY

That’s the process we followed that yielded the following year-end results for one of our clients.

Their Facebook reach increased 597%, followers were up 47%, and link clicks rose by 1300%. Their Instagram reach went up 1,000% and link clicks rose 100%

We built out each calendar based on the strategy, then developed and posted content that aligned with it. By elevating their visuals, adding stories and reels, and posting consistently, their feed turned into an ongoing, compelling story that revealed the best features of their brand.

WHAT METRICS SHOULD I BE PAYING ATTENTION TO?

Conversions refer to desired actions taken by users after interacting with your social media content, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. Tracking conversions is the most important of all the KPI’s because it shows that your entire sales cycle is working—from initial social media impressions to responding to the CTA on your website.

Engagement: Likes, shares, comments, and other interactions with your social media content indicate engagement. High engagement rates suggest that your content is resonating with your audience and generating interest.

Reach and Impressions: Reach refers to the number of unique users who have seen your content, while impressions indicate the total number of times your content has been displayed. These metrics help you understand the visibility of your content and its potential impact.

Follower Growth: Tracking the growth of your social media followers over time reflects the effectiveness of your content strategy and audience-building efforts.

Website Traffic: Monitoring the amount of traffic driven to your website from social media platforms can help assess the effectiveness of your social media marketing in driving website visits and conversions.

Brand Sentiment: Monitoring mentions of your brand on social media and analyzing sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) can provide insights into how your brand is perceived by your audience and identify areas for improvement.

Customer Satisfaction: Engaging with customers directly on social media and monitoring feedback and reviews can help gauge customer satisfaction and identify opportunities to address concerns or improve the customer experience.

Competitive Analysis: Comparing your social media performance with your competitors can provide valuable insights into your market position and help identify areas where you can differentiate and improve.

Most importantly, pay attention! See what works and what doesn’t, and incorporate more of that into your social strategies.

If you are always learning in the process, then you will be gaining the information you need to master your social media!