subject: Social Media – Where Less Can Be More [print this page] Nowadays it seems as if virtually every brand is engaging with social media in some way or another. Many get it right, others are doing okay, and some are doing it in all the wrong ways.
Engaging on social media platforms can be easier said than done. A social media strategy takes a lot of thought, planning and tweaking not only at the outset, but continuously. Some brands want to have a presence on ALL social media platforms regardless of whether or not the network is relevant to their target audience. While this may work for some, more often than not, this lack of focus can lead to a social media strategy not being as successful as it could be.
It's most likely that your brand already has profiles on social networks, so the question to ask is why were those networks chosen? Is this where your target audience is spending their time? If not then your social media strategy can be streamlined. On a successful brand profile clients will interact with the brand by asking brand-related questions for instance. For a good example of a South African brand that is getting social media right, take a look at Woolworths' Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Once you know on which social networks your target audience is spending their time, focus on those. Determine the goals you want to achieve through your social media strategy for instance increasing customer interaction, getting feedback from clients on potential advertising campaigns and so forth. Once your goals have been determined, create a content strategy for your networks.
Social media compliments SEO therefore keep your SEO keyword strategy in mind when creating the content strategy for your social media campaign. Social networks rank fairly well on search engine result pages (SERPs) for relevant key-phrase searches and if your social media campaign is successful your social networks will provide your brand with increased awareness on SERPs.
Once you have your strategy finalised, determine what actions you are going to take on a daily basis to ensure that the goals are reached. Discipline and time are required! Lastly, determine how you are going to measure the success of your social media strategy and efforts and benchmark the progress on a regular basis. The AlterSage team has created, implemented and managed numerous social media strategies for clients so if you have a question, feel free to ask us!
