Defining a communication strategy for social networks is essential. Many companies have adopted them because they are unavoidable.
But they do not necessarily have the time or the expertise to think about an adequate social media strategy.
Yet these digital tools are extraordinary levers for the marketing of any company, whatever its sector and its objectives.
Here are some ways to manage your social networks optimally:
Step 1: Make an inventory
Here are some questions to ask yourself before considering a positioning and a communication plan on social media.
Technical and human resources
- a) Are you present on the social networks of this Top 6?
Is your presence low, medium, high?
Is your level of mastery beginner, intermediate? - b) What is your equipment (computers, smartphones, tablets, live material)?
Depending on your activity and your mobility, an adjustment may be necessary. - c) Who is responsible for digital communication within your organization?
→ A dedicated community manager or social media manager
The Social Media Manager is an expert responsible for managing the image of a company on social and digital media. Its job is therefore to define the best marketing and editorial strategy to enhance and develop the image of a company on social networks.
→ A multi-cap communications officer
→ A member of the management team
→ Multiple contributors/administrators?
Is it managed internally, or outsourced?
You can definitely decide to organize a training (like a MOOC) for the designated person within your company or to entrust your SMO (social media optimization) to a web agency or a freelance specialist.
Financial resources
- The preceding questions also depend on this non-negligible criterion.
- Even if the social networks are free, some of their functionalities are paying (the LinkedIn premium account for example) and the management/planning platforms also offer free or paid services.
- There is also the possibility of advertising campaigns and organizing contests.
The point is: do you have a budget to devote to this part of your communication? How high?
Small benchmark: on average, a company invests between 2 and 10% of its turnover in global communication, according to:
- if it is in launch or maturity phase
- its sector of activity (peaks of activity, activity regularly distributed over the year)
- if his market is very competitive
- it’s positioning (entry level, luxury, etc.)
In this global budget, more or less important is reserved for digital, according to its sector of activity and its objectives.
Step 2 – Define your goals for Social Network
Now that you know where you are, where do you want to go?
Your priorities may not be the same as when you created your Facebook, Twitter, for the first time.
Here is a list of the main objectives you may have:
- develop your notoriety, increase your visibility
- improve your brand image
- identify, develop new prospects / customers
- build a committed community
- improve internal communication
- gather information about the market, your competitors, consumption habits (do the day before)
- identify and manage crises
- assist your community (advice, customer relations)
- attract new recruits to your teams
Judge the relevance of your social media goals with the SMART technique:
- Specific: no vague objectives, they must be as concrete as possible.
- Measurables: no need to set unmeasurable goals, do not waste time.
- Accepts / Attainable the person dedicated to this mission is operational and voluntary.
- Realists: otherwise it will be frustrating. Patience, do not aim to quadruple your subscribers in a week.
- Temperament defined: the goal must have a deadline, otherwise it will go to the trap!
Step 3 – What is your target? Your audience?
Your target may be large depending on the products or services you offer.
But if it is more precise (age group, sex), the message, the tone used and the ideal social network will not be the same and must be adapted.
Your positioning must be clear to distinguish yourself from your competitors.
And the more qualified your target is, the higher their engagement on your social networks will be.
Step 4 – Heal your content, set your editorial line
- Deliver rich, concise, and varied content for sharing.
- Curate: Share quality articles or infographics from other sources. Maybe they will share some of your info in return!
- Illustrate! Images, videos, tutorials, computer graphics are very popular, especially for the younger ones. Sometimes they are better than a long speech!
- Share statistics, show your expertise, it is a source of sharing and therefore of virality.
- Tell your story: the emotion factor plays more and more, readers want the human, not the 100% product.
- Go back to your site, remember that the goal is to make you known, share links to your site to generate traffic and sales!
- Be consistent, homogenize your messages: you are probably present on several social media, choose what type of content is to be published on which network.
The message will be different, but the tone must be consistent. It would be strange to use humor and a more familiar language on one, then a very serious and sustained speech on the other.
Of course, every social network has the same goal: to communicate.
But some are more suitable than others depending on your positioning and information to communicate.
Example: Pinterest is perfect for arts and crafts.
Another example: you can decide to book Facebook to showcase your activities, Instagram to the best photos of your events, Twitter to your “hot” news and Linkedin to your recruitments or pros tips.
Attention, it is useless to share the same information on all these channels, except if it is very important information for your company (launching a new flagship product).
Basically, define your positioning, determine your editorial line, but also choose the location of your publications. This may seem restrictive, but you will give to see a real mastery of your subjects and thus reach a status of expert, influencer.
Step 6 – Plan!
According to your overall communication plan (news, upcoming events), establish a retro planning, a social editorial calendar of future publications.
Be present! You have to publish regularly, but without abuse, by writing posts, articles, but also comments and sharing on other publications.
Be careful, do not publish too often or too rarely (you have to feed the dreaded algorithm without tiring your subscribers) -> maximum 4 publications per week and per social network.
Here are some tips to help you stand out.
When to publish?
Yes, there are niches where it is recommended to publish.
For example, peak connection times on social networks often correspond to travel time to work (for commuter users) and before bedtime.
Attention, these slots are of course strongly used by the competition too.
It’s up to you, if you do not want to risk being diluted in the stream, try narrower slots, avoiding too hollow moments (at night, on the weekends, etc.) and thinking about “life expectancy”. contents “.
The best: observe your own statistics to understand the habits of your readers! You can use Google Calendars or download this free printable calendar, for better planning of your post, Time, Date and occasions which can boost your sales.
Step 7 – Analyze your results and adjust
There are KPIs or performance indicators to analyze your results on social networks.
- Reach or scope
The “effective” audience or the scope of a social publication, that is, the number of times the publication actually appeared in subscribers’ news feeds. - Acquisition (fans, subscribers, followers)
Your audience in figures and its evolution in percentage. - Commitment (like share, comments)
The number of times users interact with your posts. - Conversion (landing on your site, generated orders, etc.)
The number of clicks on links to your site by users from your social networks.
See which publications work best, and adjust!
Step 8 -Do not neglect moderation
The answer, even hard-to-cash critics, be constructive, offer solutions, but beware of trolls (people or robots whose purpose is to launch and fuel controversy on your page), which will make you waste time.
The adage web says: “Do not feed the trolls” (do not feed the trolls).
Here, you have several choices: upstream moderation or post-event moderation.
The pre-moderation: the content is read and validated before it is online. It can reassure the company but slows the spontaneity of the exchanges.
The moderation retrospectively: the contributions of users are monitored after they appear online. It allows transparency and vivacity of the debates but can pose problems of slippages, especially if you are not reactive.
Conclusion
Social media is no longer confined to the use of entertainment or a hobby, they have become real marketing assets for professionals.
In your digital media plan, do not miss the opportunity they offer to strengthen your presence on the Internet, but also to reach new targets or recruit differently from future employees. Their management requires skills and time, but it is optimizable, with a little investment! ?
