Now more than ever, working on the Internet presence is essential , especially in social networks . However, it is useless to publish today and tomorrow only if I remember. Behind a successful brand or business, there is a well-defined networking strategy. Therefore, if all the social media plans that you have made have not worked for you or you do not even know how to start making one, what we have to tell you interests you.
Most people have at least one profile created on a social network . It can be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Pinterest, among others. Your job will consist of knowing which social networks interest you for your business (if you have requested a social media budget in an agency, you will already know this), which ones can work better and, from there, begin to develop your social media plan. for 2020, which is not over yet. Shall we get down to work? Well let’s get to it …
How to develop your social media plan for 2020
To develop your social media plan, you must take into account the 8 steps that we are going to analyze below. Carrying them out in the order in which we’ve laid them out is important for you to be successful. However, it is convenient that you develop them very well, since although these steps can be used for all types of business , in reality, they must be adapted to the needs of each one of them. To do this, you must do a very deep job in which you will get to know your business as you have never done before.
1. Set goals that make sense for your business
The first step in developing your social media plan is setting goals that make sense for your business. To do this, you must analyze which are the products that offer you the most benefits, the geographical areas in which you sell more or in which you could increase your sales, and whether or not you have a loyalty strategy. You may have seen what works for many other brands, but you should keep in mind that yours may not do well. Therefore, remember that all strategies must be consistent with your business model .
2. Research your target audience
The second step in developing your social media plan is researching your target audience. Have you ever done it? This step is very important, as it will give you a lot of information about the product you are selling and the one your customers are looking for. To do this, you must ask yourself some essential questions such as is my product solving a need or is it improving people’s lives? Am I offering the product I am selling to the right person? These and many other questions will help you define your buyer persona.
3. Establish the most important metrics
The third step is to measure the results reported by the publications, the investment in advertising , the giveaways, etc., that you are doing on social networks. Everything can be measured , believe it or not, and it is important that you do it. The metrics will give you a lot of information about your social media plan, you will know what is working and what is not. However, not all of them are going to be useful to you. For example, you may want to know if you receive more visits through mobile phones or a computer, what new or returning users visit you, or the social network in which they interact the most.
Don’t be fooled by some metrics
However, there are some metrics that can be very appealing, but that do not bring you any benefit of great relevance. An example is Google Analytics if you only use it to see how much traffic reaches your networks. This is not important. The fundamental thing is the quality not the quantity, remember that! Also, you must take into account the bounce rate. Some metrics can tell you a high bounce rate, but your followers may have clicked on the post and seen it from start to finish! Therefore, be very careful with these types of metrics because they can make you believe something that is not actually happening.
4. Look at what your competitors are doing
The fourth step to measuring the results of your publications is that you look at what your competitors are doing. But looking at their actions is not copying, be careful! Even if your competitors sell products similar to yours or have goals that could be considered the same, you should never copy them. This is important to keep in mind. Observing what your direct and indirect competition is doing can give you many ideas that you can apply and design to fully adapt to your social media plan.
Same industry, different strategies
Perhaps you may think, how is it possible that if I analyze what my competition is doing, that we are from the same industry, without copying each other? This is easier than you think and is that your strategies do not have to be the same, in fact, they will not be. The reason is that the values of your brands are not the same. The second, that the customers may not either, since the approach is different and the products, although similar, are not exactly the same. Therefore, remember to design different strategies. We can help you!
How to detect your competitors on social networks
Now comes the most important question, which is how to detect your competitors in networks. To do this, you must make use of the labels that refer to the product or service that you offer . It is as easy as doing a search on each social network and you will see those publications of possible competitors. Once you have done this, it is time to go further. A screening of those competitors who have a better SEO positioning . You already have it? Well now look at their posts and comments. They will give you many clues about their networking plan.
5. Create and curate engaging social content
Now you know a lot more about how to develop your social media plan for this year, but there is still something else. It is about creating and curating social content that really attracts your audience and invites them to comment and participate in what you share. To achieve this, we can give you four tips that will help you be successful.
Take advantage of the “trends” in your sector
Staying behind is not an option. The trends are for something and you should take advantage of them. Everything that is a trend attracts attention, attracts. Therefore, be very attentive to them. Work in social networks is active and daily . You can’t get lost for a day. Therefore, it is very important that you be attentive and that you take a look at what your competitors are doing.
An example of two of the trends that are succeeding in a general way, then we should see those specific to your sector, is the use of podcasts and tik tok . Is it true that in recent times there are many brands that are opting for these formats? Well, if they are doing it, it is because they work and, in addition, the tik tok videos can be shared on social networks, also small samples of a podcast. Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?
UGC and engaging content
Well, you have already pointed out the use of trends to generate content that attracts attention, but do you know that the UGC can help you too? This refers to the content generated by your own followers on networks, that is, your potential customers. You can get high quality content if you are attentive to how they interact on each of your social networks . Pay attention.
A customer comment can allow you to create a post that answers a question about a product. Some comments can even help you refocus your networking plan and generate other content that your followers seem to be very interested in. Also, the images that users create or the reviews of products that are related to yours can be a good option to create quality content . So, stay tuned.
Time-sensitive content and stories
Empathy is something that is used a lot in marketing , as it helps you connect with your customers, at the same time that you increase the value of your brand. Now that we are still sensitized regarding the coronavirus situation, it is a good time to generate content (with great subtlety, of course) with which you can take advantage of to indicate how your brand maintains security measures or how it makes packages arrive to their destination free from contagion.
However, in addition to covid, there are stories and content that can also help you create quality content. For example, keep in mind special days like World Suicide Prevention Day, International Women’s Day, or International Labor Day. This will let your followers know that you are up to date and that these important celebrations are relevant to you, to your brand. This will increase their value, so don’t overlook them.
Video as the centerpiece of your communication plan on social networks
Video is something that should not be missing in your communication plan on social networks . It is a format that has been extremely successful, works very well and should be given a high priority. Therefore, in addition to the content and the images, consider the video. It is easy to see, you convey a clear message with it and it reaches your audience in an easier way.
For this reason, video is a format you should invest in. Forget about videos that can be seen blurry or that are not of sufficient quality . If you are going to work on the video like this, it is better not to do it, since the feedback you are going to receive from your followers will not be what you were looking for. At our agency we can help you ensure that your videos have the impact you want.
6. Make punctuality a top priority
Today you publish at eight in the morning, but tomorrow at twelve because that’s when you remember. This is a serious mistake and should not happen in your social media plan. You should always have a calendar on hand to plan the week or month, with specific times for each of your publications. How many times will you release a video, maybe one a week? The text content at what time will it come out and have an image or not? These are things that you should be clear about and always post at the same time. Your followers will be waiting for that post, so don’t keep them waiting!
Post at the best time for engagement
Not all social networks are the same, you already know that. Therefore, the best time to publish in them is also different. Taking this into account will make you have to develop your network plan in a specific way for each social network. Depending on what it is, you should even adjust the content. Like on Twitter whose characters are limited. But, let’s go to what interests you, what is the best time for “engagement” in the main social networks?
- Twitter : between 9 and 11 am
- Instagram : at 10 am, especially on Wednesday and Friday.
- Facebook : between 11 and 12 a.m., specifically, on Wednesday.
These are some examples that you can keep in mind, however, you do not have to only publish at those times . In your network plan you can contemplate others, since your clients can connect to the different social network platforms at times of the day that are different from those that generate more “engagement”. Therefore, be attentive to the comments and, also, when there is more interaction on your social networks. This will give you a lot of clues and help you fine-tune your networking plan.
Answer your clients’ questions and as soon as possible
This part is very important, in fact, if you want you can write it down on a well-visible post-it so you don’t forget it . Answering the questions that your clients ask you is essential. Surely you have ever entered a social network and read protests from some followers because the people in front did not respond to them. This is a serious mistake, fatal for the brand.
Also, do not delay in answering the questions . On Facebook, for example, a statistic of how long it might take you to reply to someone usually appears. This can also influence the way your followers can see you. Therefore, stay alert to possible questions, review the comments well and when you answer, do so in a direct way. Do not tell your clients that they better write to you privately, answer them directly in the comment or do it privately without them having to make that effort. This is important. Good customer service.
7. Evaluate what works, what does not work and how you can improve
Well, your social media plan is well advanced if you’ve managed to follow the steps above. But, there is still something else. Remember that working on social networks is something that requires time every day (except the weekend, if you want to rest). Therefore, every 15 days or at the end of the month you should take a few hours to evaluate how the publications have gone, which ones have worked, that content that has been a failure, etc. This is essential to enhance those that are successful and eliminate those that do not bring you good results.
8. Share the goals, challenges and victories with your team
If you have a team, a community manager for example, do not hesitate to analyze with him all the publications that have been made and the results they have had. This is important so that everyone’s efforts are oriented in the same direction and the social media plan is clear. Also, not only do you have to see the negative, have a moment to share the goals and victories with your team. This will serve as motivation and will be a useful resource for increasing creativity. It really works!
Is your social media plan well designed?
You have done all the steps mentioned for your social media plan, but are you still in doubt as to whether it is well designed? Stop again at each step, analyze it very well and, above all, keep in mind key 7 in which you must evaluate how everything is working. If after several months you continue without good results, it is clear that something is wrong with your social media plan .
You may not have enough time to spend analyzing what is happening in your plan or you may be making a mistake that you are not aware of. Maybe the hours you post are not the best for you? What about the metrics, are you doing it right? These are issues that may have put you on notice that you need someone to handle all of this. In our agency we have the knowledge and experience so that your network plan is successful and that all the problems you are having with it are resolved.
We can help you design your social media plan, we will analyze the competition for you, we will measure everything that happens in each of your networks … You will not have to worry about anything, just to observe how your networks are growing and the good results that, at last, you are obtaining.
