Social Marketing Success Tips for 2017
Social media had an explosive year in 2016—new channels, new features, new lessons learned about what works and what doesn’t. That set the stage for social media managers and organizations to develop further engagement with key audiences as we look to the new year. There was one thing that did stay the same amid the torrent of change—social media marketing continues to be about relationship building.
In addition to prioritizing your efforts to continually support the conversations and relationships you have with your target audience, we think the following are the primary drivers of success for your 2017 social media plan:
1. Well, First You Need a Social Media Plan
The only way you know if you attained success with your social media marketing is to define what that looks like. What are your goals? And what is your strategic plan to reach those goals? You should post with a purpose—every. single. time. The way to avoid wily-nilly effort is to create a thoughtful plan that you execute and then evaluate. Make sure your goals are specific and attainable. The only thing worse than not having a plan, is having a plan that is so lofty you have no chance of achieving it; so make your goals realistic.
2. Your Key Audience for Social Engagement
We all know there are lots of options for social media channels, but just because they exist doesn’t mean you should jump on every bandwagon. Facebook may be a gimme. But even though the allure of Instagram is great—70.7% of brands are expected to use Instagram in 2017 (which would surpass Twitter usage) —if your audience isn’t ON Instagram, you shouldn’t waste your resources on it. With all the changes 2016 brought to the social media sphere, do a check-in with your audience. Review the demographic information for each platform and even consider a survey of your audience to ensure you are focusing your social media efforts where your audience is.
3. Video in Social Media is in Vogue
Video is taking over! Live video was launched last year, and most companies are just beginning to realize its potential on several platforms such as Facebook Live, Live on YouTube, Instagram and Periscope. Since there are so many ways you can include video in your social media plan from live videos to how-to videos on YouTube, priority No. 1 for this year is that you incorporate video in some way!
4. Pay to Play with Social Advertising
You must invest in social media advertising, because it continues to be a challenge to get the results you want by just relying on organic traffic and SEO. Algorithm changes pushed many to dabble in social media advertising, so the competition has increased. Therefore, it’s essential for you to produce compelling ads that stand out from the masses and that lead to conversions. Even with price increases for ads, social media advertising remains one of the most cost-effective ways to reach your audience.
5. Customized Content for Better Social Interaction
Not only are people going to expect quality content, they expect brands to recognize them by delivering tailored content—the key to improving conversion rates. Expend more energy on delivering valuable content that is personalized to your audience rather than churning out marginal content just for the sake of posting a certain amount of times each week. Explore how you can deliver private social media communities and influencers to your target market.
6. 2017 Social Media Goals
As we learned in 2016, the social media landscape is constantly shifting, and it’s difficult to stay on top of the latest best practices. That’s why having a larger team at your disposal can help sift through the chatter to determine the best social media strategy for your organization. Join us for a latte and discuss how we can support your marketing efforts. Give us a call at 303-300-2640 or contact us online to get the conversation started.
What goals do you want to achieve with social media in 2017?
If you’re looking for internet marketing tips, you may also like our article on SEO Tips & Techniques.
