Creating A Winning Social Strategy

So you’re not ready to outsource your marketing but you still want a winning social strategy? Indiana business owners, you’re in the right place!

Social media is an essential tool for Indiana small businesses to connect with their audience and promote their products and services, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy task. With ‘gurus’ floating around, new platforms popping up everyday, and a million different strategies, I mean - what the heck is a social strategy anyway?? Businesses can be completely paralyzed by what they should be doing on social media.

We know social media can feel totally overwhelming and it’s ok if you don’t know where to start. That’s why we put together this comprehensive guide to uncover the steps to finding your target audience, choosing the right platforms, creating content that resonates with your audience, and measuring your success.

Ready to grow your small business? Let’s dive in!

Identify Your Target Audience

If you want a winning social strategy, then first you need to figure out who is buying from you. If you have any demographics in place already, this is a good place to start. If not, check out your social analytics and think about the clients you serve.

Who are they? How old are they? Where do they shop? What do they do on the weekends? What are their buying habits? 

It might help you to create a customer avatar so you can start tailoring your messaging to the people who are actually going to trust you with their money. And please…don’t say it. Your ideal customer is not everyone!

We understand that there are many businesses who serve a ton of different kinds of people, but who are the people that are MADE for your product or service? Start talking to them and your dream customers are going to be banging down your door.

Choose The Right Platforms

It’s time for a little myth/fact.

Myth: you need to be on every social platform

Fact: you should focus on 1-2 platforms at a time until you are comfortable and have the capacity to move on to more. Stretching yourself thin across multiple platforms is only going to hurt you in the long run! Focus on good content, a targeted message, and compelling CTAs that encourage users to take action.

Create Content That Resonates

Okay, now for the fun part! You’ve got your audience in mind, your messaging down, and you’re ready to get out in front of people on the gram. But there’s still something you’re not sure of… what kind of content should you be creating anyway?

This all ties back to your target audience. What kind of content do your customers like to see? What things are going to help them along the buyer journey and land them right to the moment they hit that ‘pay now’ button?

If you’re not 100% sure, it’s okay to experiment. If Instagram is in fact one of your chosen platforms, you could try a mix of carousels, reels, static posts, and stories. A good rule of thumb is to post 2-4x a week.

It’s important to stick to a consistent posting schedule that is based in reality. Do not sign yourself up for 7 posts a week if you can’t handle it! 

Measure Your Success

It’s time to find out how you’re doing! Tracking analytics is key to making informed decisions about your strategy moving forward. You can track these analytics in a spreadsheet every month or quarter. 

The analytics you use to inform your next steps are dependent on your strategy. If you’re raising brand awareness, look at reach and impressions. If you’re trying to drive brand engagement and loyalty, look at your engagement rates, new followers by month, and saves/shares.

If you read through this and you still want to throw up your hands and scream about social media, then it might be time to book a call with us as your guide.