Navigating A Social World

We’re long past the days of Y2K, fearing technological errors that would wreak havoc on the world. Although now, we have AI and robots to worry about—but I digress! The point is, we’ve come so far when it comes to technology, and ways to connect to the world and others, especially when it comes to social media.

To date, there are more than 100 social platforms to choose from, including some of the most well-known: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and the steadily rising star, TikTok. In a saturated social world, brands have to ask themselves, “Am I communicating to my audience?” and if the answer is “Yes,” the follow-up would be, “Is it working?”

Social media is more than just throwing together a graphic with some words and posting it for the world to see; social media is strategic. So, if you’re looking to make some moves in the social world, here are three important steps you should do:

Set Goals

One of the most crucial parts of your social media strategy will be your goals! Imagine your strategy as a boat and your goals as the sail. If you don’t have clear goals, your boat isn’t going to get very far, you might even get lost at sea. Having clear goals will help you understand the direction you need to go, whether you’re trying to get more followers, more visitors to your site, or even just brand awareness.

Do Your Research

Taking the time to do research now, will save you a lot of time and confusion later on down the road. Before you hit the ground running with your social media plan, you should consider doing research to find out who your audience is, and what social platforms they are on. Marketing toward Gen Z looks a bit different than marketing toward Gen X; where they show up socially might look different as well! So, before you start getting cozy on TikTok, check to see if that makes sense for your brand, and your brand audience.

Create Content

We’ve heard the saying, “content is king.” The phrase leans into the importance of having quality content that will drive in traffic to your brand. After you set goals and get a grasp on who your audience is and what platforms they’re on, you’ll want to start building out compelling content buckets! We’ve found that using a content calendar helps to get a bird’s eye view of the year in a monthly and weekly breakdown.

Conclusion

Technology is changing rapidly, and the way we communicate with others is shifting along with it. Navigating this social media landscape doesn’t have to be hard, all it takes is a good plan.