Build a Social Media Strategy With These 6 Awesome Tricks

If you are serious about building your business and your brand, you must be actively engaged on social media. I’m sorry but there is no other way around it. I can hear some of you already, “Not one more thing, I’m already so busy with everything else.”

You are preaching to the choir. I used to feel the same way, and that is why I didn’t take the time to understand how to really use this incredible marketing medium. When I started my network marketing business last year, I jumped feet first into social media marketing, without a plan. I thought I was a big-baller, shot-caller because I already had a Facebook page with over 1,000 friends and had over 600 Twitter followers (don’t laugh). Needless to say, it didn’t turn out that well and I was completely overwhelmed. Social media marketing isn’t just posting, tweeting and pinning. If you want business-related results, you must see the bigger picture. Every action you take on social media should be part of that picture.

This is where your planning comes in.

It may sound like a lot of time and effort, but if you take a step back and create a social media strategy, the rest of your labor will be effortless.

Here are six tricks to help get you started in building your strategy:

1. Create
Sit tight, because this is the beginning of your journey. Think about where it is you want to go with your business. Are you looking to increase sales – and who isn’t? Do you want to expand awareness with your brand? What do you want to accomplish in marketing your business on social media platforms? Begin to set clear objective goals, but don’t spread yourself too thin or you’re not going to accomplish anything. I focus on the S.M.A.R.T. strategy for goal setting to ensure my objectives are Specific, Measurable,Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

2. Choose
​Not all social media platforms are created equal. When I developed my social media strategy, I only had two platforms initially listed in my marketing plan. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and I wanted to make sure I was able to stay consistent with my marketing. Be excellent with one or two platforms instead of mediocre with five or six. There is no shame in that game.

3. Check out your competition
Why recreate the wheel? Your competition can tell you a lot about what works and what doesn’t. After all, they’re targeting the same customers you are. If you ignore your competition, you’re giving up a fantastic opportunity to learn from their successes and pitfalls.

4. Content
Just hearing the word content used to make me break out in hives. But then I started to think more about what my customers wanted. Start drafting high-level messages that you know will resonate with your customers. Don’t be afraid to get your creative juices flowing; your social media presence should be fun and exciting – not boring.

5. Consistency
I still struggle with this one, but I cannot stress enough that it’s importance. Consistency is providing predictable and reliable results to customers or clients every time you interact with them. That’s right – every time. When you make a schedule – stick with it. If you drop the ball, don’t beat yourself up; just get back on schedule as soon as you can.

6. Control
You’ll need control for managing your posts. Some of my business partners use Buffer, I use Hootsuite. They are social media sharing tools that allow you to schedule posts across different social media platforms. It’s a huge time-saver and as an entrepreneur, our time is money. But more importantly, I am able to see my weekly strategy and modify as needed.

7. Bonus
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Listen, you may not see immediate results – don’t get frustrated. Stick with it. Social media takes time and also an investment of your time over a sustained period in order to achieve results. But if you commit to the six C’s I listed, you’ll see results sooner rather than later.