How to Create a Social Media Marketing Plan – 2024?
Tired of philosophy and long paragraphs? Let us talk numbers and highlight the main points of how to create a social media marketing plan!
Even if you have a small or big business, working individually or with an agency, this article will help you.
According to Investopedia “By March of 2022, there were 4.6 billion social media users globally – over 58% of the world’s population – an increase of over 10% in one year alone.”
The general direction of social media is in increase. On the other hand, it is integrating into all the business and it became an important part of the success of the marketing process.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms on which businesses create social plans and share information to build community with their target audience. This will help in building the company’s brand, promoting its products and/ or services, increasing sales, and driving website traffic.
With new features appearing every day, and due to their effectiveness and spread speed around the world. Social media became an indispensable element in the success cycle of any small or big business in any industry.
And what is additional in this solution is that your data analytics and metrics in every platform allow marketers to track the success of their efforts and identify even more ways to engage.
Platforms of Social Media
Businesses’ lives have been reshaped in a large way by social media platforms . Here are the most popular social media platforms used in marketing.
- Facebook: has more than 2.27 billion active monthly users. The Facebook Ads Manager, allows you to create ads that target users based on demographics and psychographic factors.
- Twitter: has an average of 186 million daily active users. Studies show that 59% of users use Twitter to get the news. Another study says that 74% use it to get their news or headlines.
- LinkedIn: is known as a social networking site for professionals. It is used to update customers of your business, meet new team members, and connect with other businesses.
- Instagram: is owned by Facebook, and it has more than a million monthly active users. It also provides similar advertising options as Facebook. Instagram is a visual platform. It is the best choice for your business if you want to reach your customers through photos and videos. It also contains wide features that help marketers to reach a wider audience.
- YouTube: has over 2 billion registered users. It is known for highlighting the company culture and creating tutorials, vlogs, and informative and entertaining content. Visual content is an effective way of engaging site visitors.
- Snapchat: has more than 238 million daily active users. It allows its users to post photos and videos that remain on the platform for 24 hours. It is mostly used by a business for sending real-time updates and promoting events like product launches or a conference.
- TikTok: has more than 689 million monthly active users from across the globe. It allows its users to share short videos and enter viral trends or challenges. Other than sharing videos about your business, you can also use TikTok’s advertising features to promote your business.
Importance of Social Media Marketing
- Get attention and build awareness
- Build community
- Generate and nurture leads
- Build your brand authority
- Build loyalty with customers
- Encourage Engagement
- Grow affordably
- Measure marketing efforts
Steps to create a Social Media Marketing plan
Simply creating a profile and posting random content every once in a while is not enough anymore. You should create and follow a social media marketing plan to achieve what you seeking.
1.Audit your current online presence
Before you start with any social media plan, you have to audit your online presence. At what stage you are? On what platforms are your audience active the most? What are your competitors doing? This step is so important to help you clarify your needs and what you have to improve. In another word, know yourself to know your plans!
2.Assign your target audience and goals
The next step you need to do is assign your target audience and goals. For whom are you going to do this plan? And what are you going to achieve?
When it comes to targeting your audience, you should focus on:
- Age
- Location
- Interest
- Needs
- Gender
On the same line, you should clarify your goals to align your mission statement, one of the effective ways to measure your goals is to follow the SMART strategy which means that your goals and objectives should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
This framework will guide your actions to real business results.
3.Find your posting strategy and tools
Without tools, the ability to schedule posts ahead of time and make a content calendar is difficult. On the other hand, your creativity and ideas will remain in the box. To find your posting strategy you should answer these questions:
- What should you be posting?
- What’s the ideal amount to post per day?
- How often should you post?
And it is important to know that the answer to these questions is not a standard. It depends. Your goals and where your audience is, are the main factors in drawing your posting strategy and determining the tools you should use.
4.Create and design the content
It is important to stick to a unified theme in your content that suits your industry. The more appealing your content is, the more positive results will get back to you.
Remember that your content is the road to your business growth.
What makes good content?
- To be authoritative
- To be consistent
- To be relevant
- SEO Friendly
5. Track and analyze
This step is most important. To know that your efforts are involved in the right place. Each step should be re-evaluated and analyzed. Let the data drive you. For example, if it is telling you that Facebook or Instagram is your most effective channel, consider focusing on it.
A great social media marketing plan is a constant work in progress that changes when necessary. Create a plan and start optimizing it as you continue to grow and learn more about your business and your audience.
After knowing the steps of creating a social media marketing plan. Are you still facing a problem in implementing the steps? Talent Minds team is ready to put the structure, perform and track the plan that fits your mission and vision.
Contact us at +961 3 954 864 today to audit your online presence.