How to Build a Winning Social Media Marketing Strategy

The days when social media was a new concept are over.

These days, browsing social media is often the first thing we do when we pick up our smartphones in the morning. Although social media has its drawbacks, brands can use the concept of connecting with their audience in ways they never thought possible.

Typically, this concept goes through social media marketing (SMM).

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms to build a company's brand, increase website traffic, and increase sales while connecting with customers.

Social media marketing involves posting content to social media profiles, listening to and interacting with followers, and serving social media ads with social media marketing software. This is usually done using social media management software to schedule and post various posts, maintain an online presence, and better manage workflows.

A business has its choice of social media platforms for engaging with existing customers and finding new ones while using built-in analytics to track what's working and what's not.

Pillars of Social Media Marketing

There are five key pillars of social media marketing. Move your mark through the five pillars to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

1. Strategy

Before you can roll up your sleeves and start taking advantage of all that social media has to offer, you need to get the big picture and develop a social media strategy.

This includes:

Determine the business goals you are looking to achieve. For example, maybe you want to increase brand awareness, increase sales, or increase website traffic. Creating a social media strategy helps you generate engagement around your brand and its products while building community and building customer trust. Choose the right social media channels. Whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok, the strategy will be different on each site. Consider which social media platform your target audience uses the most. Choose the type of content to share. Will your brand opt for images, videos or links? Will it be entertaining or educational? Remember that what you decide doesn't have to be the strategy forever. Change things up if social media content isn't working the way you thought!

"One of the worst pieces of advice I hear is, 'Start creating and posting content, and your page will grow naturally.' experience the social presence of their brand, there should always be a clear objective message."

Carol BustosGroup Digital Strategist, Healthcare Consultancy Group 2. Planning

Once a strategy is in place, it's time to plan and release! This means having a consistent social media presence that aligns with the brand. This helps existing and potential customers discover you. It is important to plan content in advance instead of creating and publishing simultaneously.

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