Social media strategy: How it changes your company! (Includes template)

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is helpful when using social networks to achieve your Social media goals. By now, such a strategy should be an important component of a company's marketing.

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Why is a social media concept so important?

A social media strategy is essential, as it enables your company to achieve an enormous amount of range to obtain.

It also strengthens customer loyalty through direct and relaxed interaction between brand and user. In addition, you gain valuable insight into the preferences of the target group and can therefore work specifically to improve the products and services.

In particular, should the concept be part of Overall marketing strategy because the platform now offers direct sales opportunities, quick reactions and accurate tracking is possible. Taking individual target group needs into account is crucial here.

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In 7 steps to a successful social media strategy

Step 1: Set your goals!

Important: Defining corporate goals or social media goals is invariably The first step in any social media strategy. These goals give you an idea of what you want to achieve. Start here with the question: What do you want to achieve for your company with your social media presence?

Possible goals include increasing brand awareness, generating leads, improving customer service, or selling products directly. The goals can be varied, but they definitely should SMART be! They should be specific (S), measurable (M), attractive (A), relevant, and timely (T).

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Specific:

Each goal must be clearly defined. Example: “I want to get 1000 more followers in the next 6 months.” So you have a clear number in front of you and know where you want to go.

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Measurable:

It's important that you're able to measure success. On social media, this is great through followers, likes, shares or sales.

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Attractive:

The goals should also be attractive or achievable. They should be ambitious or challenging and yet realistic to achieve.

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Relevant:

Each goal should fit the company's overall marketing strategy.

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Scheduled:

Your goals should be timed, so when do you want to achieve your goal?

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Step 2: Find out who the audience is!

In order to be successful in social media, a comprehensive target group analysis is essential. Who are they? What are they interested in? What problems do they have that you can solve? Which social media platforms do they prefer?

What is the advantage of this knowledge? Quite simply, it helps you create exactly the content that your specific target audience wants to see.

Use data and analytics tools to identify demographics, behavior, and interests of your followers. Social media offer direct feedback through comments or surveys. Use this to get even better insights!

It is important that you do not stop there! Social media is super fast-paced and so are the needs and habits of your audience. Force yourself to constantly reunderstand and analyze your target group. This allows you to adjust and optimize your strategy.

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Step 3: Which platforms are used?

Choosing the right networks is an essential aspect of an effective social media strategy.

important! It's not important to be present on every platform, it's important to choose the channels where your target audience is most active.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok — each of these platforms has its own unique features, its own user groups, and its own formats for content marketing. Each platform requires a slightly different social media marketing strategy. For example, Instagram may be ideal for visually appealing content, while LinkedIn is better for business-related content.

In addition, your social media strategy should be considered as part of your overall media strategy and your wider online marketing plan. For example, the integration of social media and email marketing can increase the effectiveness of both channels. You could use social media to encourage subscriptions to your email list.

Ultimately, the choice of social media platforms should be based on a thorough knowledge of your target audience and fit into your overall marketing strategy.

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Step 4: Bring Your Brand to Life

Your brand is more than just a logo or slogan. It is the personality and story of your company that creates emotions and connections with your customers. And there is hardly a better place to bring your brand to life than on social media channels.

A strong social media strategy focuses on creating consistent, high-quality social media content that reflects your brand identity and aligns with your goals. Each piece of content should highlight one facet of your brand and encourage interaction with your audience. Remember that the media you use should reinforce your brand message.

At the same time, your social media strategy should ensure that you are consistent across all channels. Your brand message, visual style, and tone of voice should be consistent across all platforms you're active on.

A helpful model for this step is Simon Sinnek's “Golden Circle”. He says that people don't buy what you make, but Why You're doing that.

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Step 5: Timing is everything!

Timing is absolutely critical. It's not just about what you post, but also when you post it. Time can be decisive for your content to be as large as possible visibility and achieve interaction.

To determine the ideal time to publish your social media efforts, it's important to understand the behavior of your target audience. When are they online and most active? There are general guidelines for the best times to post on different platforms, but the specific habits of your audience may differ. Used for this analysis toolsto find out the behavior of your target audience.

Balancing the frequency of your posts is also an important step in your social media strategy. An excess of posts could flood your followers and make them unfollow you, while too few posts could cause you to fall into oblivion.

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Step 6: Monitor and Interact

Effective community management is essential to build trust and loyalty among your followers. Monitoring your social media includes tracking likes, shares, and comments. It helps you understand which content is well received and which is not, and gives you valuable insights to adjust your social media marketing strategy.

But monitoring is only the first step. Active interaction — responding to comments, responding to questions and feedback, sharing user-generated content — is just as important. This can create a real relationship with your customers and make you reachable as a result.

Remember that every interaction, whether positive or negative, is an opportunity to strengthen your brand and build trust. Even with negative feedback It offers the opportunity to react professionally and in a solution-oriented manner and thus demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

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Step 7: Fine adjustment on the way to the top.

There is no standstill with social media — and the same goes for your social media strategy. Even if you have a solid plan and share high-quality content, it's important to regularly review and adjust your social media efforts. This is the key to constantly improving your social media presence and getting to the top.

You can use a variety of tools to help you measure your performance. These tools can provide you with valuable data, such as what type of content is best received by your audience, when they are most active, or how your number of followers develops over time.

But it's not just about collecting data, it's also about interpreting it and acting accordingly. For example, if you find that certain types of content are particularly popular, you should consider how you can incorporate more of it into your content marketing plan.

It is also important to pay attention to changes and trends in the social media landscape. New platforms, features, or user habits can open up new opportunities, but also require adjustments to your strategy.

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Social media strategy template

Download it now easily and for free our Download Excel template and create your own social media strategy.

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Examples of a successful social media strategy

True Fruits

True Fruits, a well-known smoothie brand from Germany, has made a name for itself with its unique and provocative social media strategy. The key to their success lies in their ability to attract the attention of their audience while building a loyal fan base.

The brand uses provocative and humorous content that often questions social norms and addresses controversial topics. This type of content, which often encourages viral discussions, increases the visibility of True Fruits and ensures that it stays in consumers' minds.

True Fruits is not only known for their daring advertising campaigns, but also for their authenticity and consistency. They stay true to their brand image and communicate in a way that matches their brand personality: directly, bluntly, and often with an ironic undertone. This consistent communication has helped establish a strong brand image and build a loyal following.

Another important aspect of their social media strategy is interaction with their audience. True Fruits takes the time to respond to comments and opinions on social media, which shows that they value and respond to feedback from their community. This promotes engagement and strengthens the community's commitment to the brand.

Finally, True Fruits uses creative storytelling and visual elements to present their products in an appealing and memorable way.

However, it's important to note that True Fruits' approach isn't free from controversy. Some of their campaigns have been criticized as inappropriate or offensive, which shows that a successful social media strategy must also take into account the values and expectations of the target group.

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starbucks

Starbucks' successful social media marketing strategy combines various factors to create a strong online presence and an engaged community. The central goal of their success is strong commitment to the community. Not only do they respond to comments, but they also share social media content from customers, creating a strong sense of community.

The consistency of your brand presentation across all platforms plays a crucial role in your social media strategy. Their uniquely identifiable visual content helps reinforce their brand identity. In addition, the company uses user-generated content, which contributes to the authenticity of its brand and promotes customer trust.

In their storytelling, they reflect their brand values such as sustainability and community. Starbucks is known for its commitment to socially relevant issues and emphasizes its social responsibility.

In addition, they use their social media channels in marketing to promote new products and offers and use seasonality for special campaigns, such as their popular seasonal drinks.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy defines how content is created, distributed, and optimized to achieve a company's social media goals. It includes planning, content production and analysis of results.

What role does influencer marketing play in a social media strategy?

Influencer marketing is an important component of increasing a brand's reach and credibility. Through targeted cooperation with influencers, specific networks and target groups can be addressed effectively.

How do I start content planning?

Content planning starts with a target group analysis to understand the needs of the target group. Topics, categories and appropriate formats are then defined to ensure consistent and effective communication.

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