In the U.S., 72%<\/a> of people use social media, with the most popular platforms being Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n This means your audience is probably on at least one of these platforms \u2013 but you won\u2019t connect with them, drive more traffic to your website, or increase sales without a solid social media content strategy.<\/p>\n A social media content strategy is a plan that contains all the ins and outs of how you\u2019ll use content to grow your brand and reach your goals on social media platforms.<\/p>\n Ideally, your strategy will be documented so you can refer to it as you carry out the tasks associated with creating social media posts<\/a>, publishing them, and tracking your results. If you have a team, your strategy document will also help keep everyone on the same page.<\/p>\n Remember: You can and should see direct brand growth from social media content marketing if you do it right \u2013 with a plan.<\/p>\n If, on the other hand, you post whatever, whenever, with no strategy, goals, or measurement, you\u2019ll probably see little to no results.<\/p>\n Every strategy should start with setting one or two goals for what you want that strategy to achieve.<\/p>\n Goal-setting hones your focus and guides your actions so you\u2019re not wasting time on things that don\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n For example, if one of your social media content marketing goals is to drive more traffic to your website, metrics such as likes and shares won\u2019t matter that much to you. Instead, you\u2019ll look at your click-through rates (CTRs) and website traffic from social media.<\/p>\n Here are some other common social media content marketing goals<\/a>:<\/p>\n Remember, don\u2019t track everything \u2013 track what will help you meet your goals.<\/p>\n If your brand already does content marketing, you understand how important it is to define your audience before you start creating content.<\/p>\n Audience research will guide what you post more than any other factor; Every post you create should engage them on some level.<\/p>\n To do that, you need to know what<\/strong> will engage them.<\/p>\n You can base that on what you know about them, such as their age, gender, income, job title or industry, etc., or<\/strong> you can find out directly from their mouths with methods like:<\/p>\n Audience research will also help you determine which platforms<\/a> your brand should be using.<\/p>\n And, no, you shouldn\u2019t be on all<\/strong> the platforms. Instead, choose one or two on which to focus the brunt of your efforts, and choose them based on the most common platforms your audience uses.<\/p>\n An unoptimized social profile will hurt the work you put into social media content marketing. An unprofessional, sloppy, or off-brand profile will not help visitors understand who you are or what you sell.<\/p>\n Instead, make sure your profiles are engaging, informative, and appropriately branded so you can help leads discover more about you.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. For example, Rifle Paper Co. is a hugely successful paper goods company with the simplest Instagram profile possible. It still checks all the boxes:<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s time to choose your topic areas of focus for your social media content as well as what types of content<\/a> you\u2019ll post to each channel.<\/p>\n The intersection of your brand expertise + customer interests should inform your topic areas. What subjects can you post about with authority and know-how? What topics does your audience want to hear about? Narrow it down so your social profiles are cohesive and relevant.<\/p>\n After that, narrow down what post types you\u2019ll create.<\/p>\n Each social media platform offers an array of options, but your audience may expect to see certain types of content on specific platforms, e.g., lots of visual content on Instagram, or text-based posts and links on Twitter.<\/p>\n For example, Stumptown Coffee Roasters focuses mainly on posting visual product features on Instagram, while its Facebook page<\/a> is dedicated to sharing events and featuring its many cafes across the U.S.<\/p>\n Consistent publishing<\/a> is one of the key tenets of a good social media content strategy.<\/p>\n Publishing regular, high-quality content increases your visibility and gives your audience more chances to engage with your posts. That\u2019s why, to make consistency easier, you should maintain a social media content calendar and create a posting schedule.<\/p>\n Plan everything from what you\u2019ll post to the day and time it will be posted. You can also plan out campaigns or when you\u2019ll reshare old posts with the right tool, like MeetEdgar<\/a> (my personal favorite).<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to schedule posts for the times when your audience will be online and scrolling through their feeds.<\/p>\nWhat Is A Social Media Content Strategy?<\/h2>\n
How To Build Your Social Media Content Strategy In Seven Steps<\/h2>\n
1. Set Goals That Align With Your Brand<\/h3>\n
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2. Research Your Audience And What Platforms They Use<\/h3>\n
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3. Optimize Your Social Media Profiles(s)<\/h3>\n
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![\"Social](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/social-media-content-strategy-from-start-to-finish-via-sejournal-juliaemccoy.png\")
Screenshot from Instagram, November 2022<\/span><\/div>\n4. Choose Your Topic Areas And Post Types<\/h3>\n
![\"Social](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/social-media-content-strategy-from-start-to-finish-via-sejournal-juliaemccoy-1.png\")
Screenshot from Instagram, November 2022<\/span><\/div>\n5. Set Up A Content Calendar And Publishing Schedule<\/h3>\n
![\"Social](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/social-media-content-strategy-from-start-to-finish-via-sejournal-juliaemccoy-2.png\")
Screenshot from MeetEdgar, November 2022<\/span><\/div>\n