If you're sitting in front of your computer posting to social media all day, you know that it's a pretty boring way to spend time. To top it off, you don't have the budget to invest in a virtual assistant. But you know there has to be a better way to implement a great social media strategy.
We'll show you a few ideas (in this article and the video below) on how to get started with social media for business, and how to use a free tool called Hootsuite. To view a PDF of this article, download a copy and read it later or share it with a friend or colleage
What is a Social Media Strategy?
A social media strategy is a plan that tells you how to post on social media. It's a plan that you create based on what you would like to accomplish with your social media presence. Different businesses have different strategies, and it all depends on your goals.
Some people are interested in sharing ideas on social media. Others are interested in promoting products and services. Then there is another set of people who are interested in networking and building relationships.
So the first step is to create goals and objectives and the results you would like to achieve with social media. You should create a plan (a written plan is best) that gives you directions on what to post about, when to post (how often) and who (audience) your posts will target.
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For example a goal might be to increase readership by a certain number as of a certain date. Another goal might be to increase the amount of traffic that comes from a social media site to your website by a certain date. These are examples of some of the things you can map out in your plan. Then create a posting schedule that help you reach the goals in your plan on social media. Use tools like Hootsuite to lay out your posts on a calendar to make sure you're posting the entire day, in order to boost your business. Watch the video above to learn more about this great posting tool.
What Do You Want to Accomplish with Social Media?
Part of your marketing and social media strategy should include posting on a regular basis. Posting often helps to increase your exposure and reach to potential followers, website visitors and customers. Having a plan or strategy for your posts will provide a coordinated effort that enables you to accomplish more in less time. If done well, your social media accounts can bring in loads of new visitors to your website and affiliate offers.
Now that you've learned a few things that you can do with social media, what are your goals? Do you want to drive traffic to your website or affiliate offers? Maybe you want to generate more leads, generate support for a cause or build relationships by networking online. The sky is really the limit when it comes to social media marketing. But when you're starting out, it can be difficult to figure out where to begin.
What Should You Post About On Social Media?
The best place to start is with your goals and what you plan to accomplish with your audience. For example, my social media strategy includes posting about specific topics on specific days of the week and using my posts as a way to extend my website. When I reach out to followers or fans I post as my business so that it builds curiosity that leads people to my page and hopefully to my website. I also have a calendar on Hootsuite that has my social media posts lined up for the entire week.
I also include my social media audience, (not just my website audience) in everything I do online. Focus on providing things that they can use to make life better like information on vacations, things for the kids, household tips, relaxation, home office decor and more. Don't just focus on the business stuff, because we're all people first that just happen to run online companies.
Some basic categories for your posts includes, educating (how to), informing (news), entertaining, inspiring, recruiting and last but not least, selling. The best way to attract people is by providing helpful, useful information that readers can incorporate into their lives. Things that will help them save money, live better, gain wisdom, have fun and relax are appreciated when you post them online.
Great Ways to Get Organized
The next step involves getting organized. As you can see in the video above, Hootsuite is a great tool that allows you to see all your social media profiles in one location. Another great organization tool is Feedly. This tool allows you to collect and organize news feeds (RSS feeds) from blogs all over the web. It enables you to stay on top of trends, share useful content from other sources, learn about new topics, tips and ideas that you can implement in your business. Follow our RSS feed to stay informed about our latest posts.
If you haven't heard about Hootsuite, it's a free tool that you can use to schedule posts to your social media accounts. Hootsuite is invaluable because it allows you to maintain an online presence, while you focus on other revenue generating activities. It's like having a virtual assistant on auto-pilot, driving traffic to your content and offers.
How to Improve Your Social Media Posts
To get the most from your social media posts, and improve your overall social media strategy, it's very important to write great headlines that will grab the attention of your readers and draw them in to interact with your posts, sales letters, blog posts, videos and more.
Get the most out of your hashtags on Twitter and Facebook by using a tool like TweetReach to research the best hashtags to incorporate into your posts.
Write great headlines with the formulas found in the free eBook, 5 Winning Headline Formulas. Learn why headlines are the most important part of any marketing piece. It's true that most people scan your headlines to determine whether they want to read the rest of your content. If your headlines don't grab attention, your readers will skip over your content to look at the competition's information.
This free e-book will enable you to learn formulas that will result in great blog titles, product descriptions, sales letters, and more. Once you are clear on how to attract your ideal audience to your posts, you will see an improvement in your ability to grow your audience.
Learn More About Hootsuite Academy
Once you sign up for for your free account, you can also take advantage of the Hootsuite Academy, a free set of courses that will show you how to use social media to reach your goals.
LEARN TO CONNECT AND RECRUIT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Finally, a guide that really shows you how to get results on social media. Get the Ultimate Network Marketer's Guide to Connecting and Recruiting on Social Media and learn how a busy mompreneur ran a home business and created a multiple 6-figure income and recruited and sponsored 80% of her downline on social media. Learn the do's and don'ts of networking on social media in this free guide.
If you’re sitting in front of your computer or on your smart phone posting to social media all day, you know that it’s a pretty boring way to spend your time. You know there has to be a better, more productive way to promote your products, services and other great content. Learn how Hootsuite can help you enhance your social media strategy.