Understanding how to effectively manage your business and its social media can be tough. There’s so much to consider, and it’s often difficult to identify and maintain longterm strategies for success amidst day-to-day distractions. But, social media is your “always-on” sales representative, and having a strong social media presence can directly drive results.

We understand the struggles your business might encounter, so we have drawn up a simple nine-step process to help you achieve social media success.

Step 1: Identify your goals.

First, you need to focus on what your overarching goals are for your company’s social media: What do you want to get out of your social media presence? Do you want to generate more leads? Increase your brand awareness? Set goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.

Step 2: Design a Social Media Strategy

Take the time to design and develop a strategy. Don’t go in guns blazing. Think of the following when determining your strategy:

Identify your target audience.

Plan a budget, and consider paying to boost certain posts.

Decide what days will you post specific content on. For example, post blogs on Thursdays or have a promo on Mondays

Step 3: Create Consistent Profiles

Make sure all of your profiles have the same appearances (profile pictures, bios, content, etc). Often, when a company is just dipping its toe into social media, they will overlook this important step. As more social networks launch, it’s important that your brand’s identity remain constant across all channels.

Step 4: Develop a Voice

Just as your company needs to have identical profiles and visual assets, your company should have its own unique “voice” that remains consistent amongst all platforms as well. People want to feel like they are always listening to your company and by having a focused voice, your message will begin to find its core audience.

Step 5: Create a lot of Quality Content

This is the most important step, but often the hardest to achieve. The key to your social media success is generating great content that people love. If you are an investment firm, stick to investing tips or articles, don’t ramble on about Chinese cuisine or other topics unrelated to your core business. Stay on topic, but try to establish and maintain a human element in your content.

Step 6: Include Media

Post with pictures, videos, or other media have higher engagement rates. With more engagement, you will see greater success in your social media accounts.

Step 7: Follow Relevant Accounts

Just like maintaining quality content, follow accounts that are relevant to your field. What is more important than just following these accounts? Interacting with them! When you interact with your followers, it singles them out and makes them feel recognized and special. Their perception of your company will skyrocket, and often will act as ambassador for your company. This can be one of the scariest steps for most companies (like real world interactions are sometimes). Neglecting this crucial step is where many fall short.

Step 8: Promote Your Content

Many social media platforms have paid advertisements and promoted content. Plan a budget out and if you see potential in a post, invest in it! With a higher number of views, you will see a greater amount of engagement.

Step 9: Analyze Your Results

Make sure you are tracking your posts. If your blogs are getting a lot of traffic, maybe you should increase the frequency of your posts. If a hashtag you used isn’t generating engagement, then try to come up with something that sticks! When you find a rhythm and you’re having success, keep it consistent!

Remember, you are not going to see results immediately. You have to put in a lot of time and effort to achieve a strong social media presence. You have to build strong relationships and produce high quality content that people love. We hope that these nine steps help you achieve your social media goals!

If you have any comments, questions or social media marketing tips, let us know!