Introduction
There’s a lot of talk about the best ways to use social media. But the truth is, no one knows exactly what works. Every brand has its own audience and set of opportunities, so there’s no “one size fits all” approach to your strategy. For example, if you’re a small business in Auckland with a target market that skews older than 25 years old (and therefore likely not on Snapchat), it may make sense for you to only post to Facebook groups or Instagram stories about once per week. On the other hand, if you’re an app developer whose biggest audience is 18-25 year olds who hang out on Reddit all day long—well then maybe posting daily on Reddit would be great!
The key is knowing your audience.
Knowing your audience is the key to success. You need to know what they like, what they don’t like, and how you can best serve them in order to tailor your social media strategy.
For example: if you’re targeting millennials who are likely on Instagram or Snapchat but not Facebook, then it’s probably not worth putting much time into Facebook advertising because you won’t get many clicks from there.
Brands need to be consistent.
In order to be successful, brands need to be consistent. This means that they need to keep their content fresh and relevant. Don’t do too much at once; find what works for you and stick with it! Experiment with different types of posts, but don’t be afraid if one doesn’t work out the way you hoped–it’s all part of the learning process!
Finally, don’t let fear stop you from trying new things or failing when something doesn’t go according to plan; it’s all part of being a social media maestro!
It’s about the data.
Data is the secret to social media success. It allows you to see what works and what doesn’t, so that you can quickly adapt your content strategy as needed.
It’s also important because it gives you insight into how your audience reacts to your content. For example, if you post an Instagram story about a new product launch but nobody interacts with it or comments on it (i.e., likes), then clearly that type of content isn’t resonating with them–and perhaps it means they’re not interested in buying from you after all!
The same goes for sharing: if one piece of content gets shared by thousands of people while another only gets shared by ten friends and family members, chances are good that people will be more likely to engage with posts from the former than those from later ones.
Social media is more about listening than talking.
Social media is more about listening than talking. The important thing is to listen to what your audience is saying, listen to what your competitors are saying and then use this knowledge to inform the way you talk about yourself or your company in social media channels.
It’s also important that we listen carefully when our clients and employees are talking about us on social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook. If people aren’t happy with how we’re doing things then it’s worth taking note of this feedback so we can work out how best improve ourselves and our service provision over time.
Find the right networks for your business.
The first step to creating a social media strategy is to find the right network for your business.
- Choosing a relevant network: If you’re running a restaurant, Facebook might not be the best place to start. Instead, consider Instagram or Snapchat–both of which are more visual and better suited toward food photos than Facebook.
- Finding your audience: It’s important that you choose networks where your audience already exists (or can easily be found). For example, if you sell products aimed primarily at men in their late 30s who live in Auckland and enjoy sport fishing on weekends, then Twitter would make sense as part of your strategy because it has many users within this demographic group who follow fishing news closely.
- Finding brands like yours: When choosing which networks will work best for promoting content from other businesses similar to yours (i.e., competitors), look at what those brands are doing well on each platform before deciding whether or not they should be included in any given campaign; otherwise there may be little point trying something new when what works today may not tomorrow!
It’s time to switch up your social media strategy
Social media is changing. If you haven’t noticed, the platforms are getting more and more crowded every day. There’s a reason for this: people love to share their experiences online, which means there are tons of opportunities for you as a brand or business owner to get your message out there. But with so many new users joining every day, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd–especially if your strategy hasn’t been updated in years!
So what’s an old-school social media guru like yourself supposed to do? Well first off we’d suggest switching up your strategy altogether and making sure that what works today will continue working tomorrow (and beyond). To help with this process we’ve put together some tips on how New Zealand companies can adapt their strategies now so they don’t fall behind later on down the road:
Conclusion
Social media is a powerful tool that can be used by any business, but it’s important to take into account the unique needs of your brand. If you want to see results from your social media strategy, make sure that you’re putting out content that resonates with your audience and paying attention to what they respond well too. This will help guide future posts so they always resonate with their intended audience
