How to create a social media strategy that sells
Hey, it's Stevie here from Stevie Says Social! Want to know how to create a killer social media strategy that builds your followers, your business and your bank account?
Of course you do.
Because truthbomb: Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best isn’t a social media strategy. And yet, it’s the approach that many small businesses take to their socials.
If this approach sounds familiar, it’s time to change things up and start seeing some REAL results.
Here are the six steps that you NEED to follow to create a social media strategy that sells.
You can thank me later ;)
(Psssst.. Want the complete roadmap to social media success? Sign up for the FREE Social Media Bootcamp now)
Step One: Set Business Objectives
Ask yourself what the overarching business goals you want to achieve are.
Without knowing these, you won’t be able to create a social media strategy that aligns with what it is that you want to achieve in business - in which case, you’re kind of just rolling out social media for social media’s sake.
Your business objectives will look different for every business, but here are a few examples:
- Increase Online Sales
- Become the authority in your field
- Increase Market Share
- Build an audience
- Increase brand awareness
Once you’ve chosen business objectives, you then need to make them specific. Here’s an example:
“By 1 June 2019, I want to increase the market share for my business by 20%”.
Step Two: Set Social Media Goals
Once you have your business objectives, the next step in creating a social media strategy that sells is to set measurable social media goals to help you to achieve those objectives.
There are two parts to this – setting the goal, and having a way to measure it.
Here are some social media goals that you might consider:
- Grow following
- Engage following
- Grow website traffic
- Grow email list
- Secure sale
These generally come in order.
So, when you’re first starting out on social, your initial goal might be to grow your following and create some social proof.
Once you’ve got followers, it will be important to make sure that they enjoy your content and they are engaging with it. So, engagement becomes a worthy goal.
And once you’ve achieved a level of success with these first two goals, you can begin leading people off social media and into a platform that you own - your website and your email list - to lead them closer to a sale. So, goals related to website traffic, email list and leads/sales will become more important.
Step Three: Know your ideal client
You can’t create a social media strategy that sells without being crystal clear on who you are speaking to.
Knowing your ideal client - or, in other words, the PRECISE person you want to attract to your business - allows you to:
- Decide where to focus your Social Media efforts; or
- Understand the type of content to deliver, and how to deliver it.
Once you have become clear on this, you can start to get more specific with your social media marketing efforts. For example, you can:
- Choose the right social media channels: Head over to the Sensis Report to check which platforms your ideal client uses.
- Check whether you are indeed attracting the RIGHT people to your social channels: Jump into your Facebook/Instagram Insights and see who the key demographic is in terms of your followers. Does it match the ideal client you wrote down? If so, GREAT – you’re on the right track with your content.
If not – or even worse, if there isn’t a clear demographic standing out – it’s a sign to refine your marketing efforts.
Step Four: Create a content plan
A social media strategy that sells needs a killer content strategy.Wondering what to post?
If you’re a service-based business, 75% of your content should help, add value and/or showcases your brand personality, whilst 25% can promote your service.
If you’re a product based business, 75% of your content should e product push content that sells the lifestyle of your brand and 25% should provide value and create connection through things like digital storytelling.
Step Five: Decide on Your Strategies
The final step in creating a social media strategy that sells is to decide on the strategies you want to use to reach the business objectives and social media goals you have set for yourself.
There are many to choose from, but here are just a few of the most effective.
- Content Marketing
Content marketing goes a step further than simply posting on social.
It requires the creation of helpful content in written (blog posts), audio (podcasts) or audio/visual (video) format that attracts your ideal client to you, and it is one of the most effective social media strategies out there - if you commit to consistently producing quality content over time.
A) Facebook + Instagram Advertising
Facebook and Instagram advertising is the most cost effective and targeted form of paid advertising available both online and offline.
It allows you to build and scale your audience, influence and impact by getting your content seen by the right people. Want a quick run down on how to get started? Check this out.
B) Collaborations / Influencers
If you want growth on social, you need to leverage off others.
For product-based businesses, the very best way to do this is with influencer marketing.
For service businesses, the equivalent is collaboration. It’s finding businesses with similar audiences but which are non-competing and finding a way to work with them so you can leverage off their following.
c) Socialising
Socialise and interact with other accounts for 15 – 20 minutes a day.
On Instagram, genuinely comment if you like their stuff. Follow people you come across in the right target audience.
On Facebook, get active in Facebook groups.
Wrapping up
So there you have it.
The five steps you NEED to take in order to put together a social media strategy that sells.
Want to learn more about social media, and get my complete eight part framework for social media success?
If so, you need to join the FREE Social Media Bootcamp. It’s a three part video training that will get your socials sorted once and for all! Join for free here.
