5 Reasons why you need a Social Media Strategy

If you’re a start-up or a small business and you’re not getting the results you want from social media, you’re not alone. This is very common and many SMEs see social media as a necessary evil, rather than an efficient tool that can bring them customers. 

Getting great results from social media like increasing brand awareness and revenue, driving traffic to your website, generating new leads, boosting brand engagement, and getting featured in the press more often is very difficult without a solid social media strategy. 

If you’re wondering why you need a social media strategy to help you achieve all this, or why you need one in addition to a marketing strategy, here are five reasons:  

1- To get the most out of your time and money

A social media strategy will set out clear goals, in line with what you’re trying to achieve for your business. It then lays out clearly how you’re going to reach these goals, meaning that all your social media efforts are directed towards achieving them, instead of just hoping for the best. When you’re actively driving towards your goals with a clear step-by-step plan, you’ll get there a lot quicker, saving you time and money.

2- To target your audience more effectively

Being on all social media channels at once takes a lot of time and more often than not doesn’t get you the results you’re looking for. It’s a common mistake and the reason why many small businesses aren’t confident their social media is making a difference. When creating a social media strategy, you’ll get a deeper understanding of your targets, including which social media channels they spend time on. Once you know this, you can concentrate your efforts on a few channels and do it really well, instead of spreading yourself too thin.

3- To measure, report, and improve your social media efforts

Your social media strategy will set out how you will measure your progress and report on it. If you’ve ever heard the saying “what you measure you can improve”, it's especially true when it comes to the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. You will have all the tools you need to keep improving your social media, create better content to engage your followers, and hit your goals. That’s why a social media strategy is an investment that will help you in the coming months but also for years to come.

4-To be consistent

Struggling to post consistently is the number one challenge that small businesses and start-ups face when it comes to social media. But with so many brands competing for people’s attention online, consistency is essential to build strong relationships with followers and be visible. With your business pulling you in all directions, it's very hard to be consistent without a plan. Your social media strategy will keep you on track so you know exactly what to post and when.

5- To stay ahead of the competition

If your competitors are active on social media, it’s an opportunity to learn from what they’re doing and do it even better. If they’re not on social media, this gives you the advantage of being the main player in the arena. But to make sure you stand out as a brand on someone’s feed, you need to have a strategic approach. Your social media strategy will clearly set out what makes your brand different and how to weave this into your posts. It will also cover what kind of posts you will create, to ensure your content is always valuable to your followers and keeps them coming back for more.

Social media is a powerful tool but it’s often misused and leads to frustration, wasted time, and money. A strong social media strategy is the best way to ensure your social media activity is driving your business forward, especially if your goal is to get more customers.

One of my clients, AssessTech a technology and training company in the rail industry, started using Twitter and LinkedIn three years ago, following the development of a social media strategy that I created for them. Since then, they have generated multiple leads from both platforms and have increased the staff in their training and customer operations teams to deal with new business. They have now expanded into international markets and are seen as a leader in their field.

If you want to discuss your social media strategy and understand how it can drive your business forward, contact me atannamarie@taylorcommunications.co.uk