“This is the year to grow our social media presence…” “This is the year to get more followers…” “This is the year to integrate more social media marketing…”

Has your business been struggling with a focus to achieve the best ROI or how to implement a successful marketing plan? The world of social media is ever-changing, continuing to evolve each year. So, the longer you wait to jump on board, the more it could hurt your business in the long run.

Create & Schedule Content in Advance

If you’re not doing this already, get on it! It’s always a good idea to plan out your content for the next month or next couple of months. Determine how many times a week or month you’d like to post, and start creating relevant content for your brand. This ensures you stay on top of your marketing and will help to not let your social media fall through the cracks.

Thrive utilizes a content calendar for all of our represented brands. It’s a framework that allows us to post the ideal mix of content, ensuring that our clients most important messages and most engaging content is published and executed on a strategic level.

Show Your Audience You Care

No one likes to feel as if they’re not being heard or that a brand they’re passionate about just doesn’t seem to care. So, show your audience some love. Interact on social media. Respond to comments. Reach out and address serious concerns. It will speak volumes. Social media is all about creating relationships and continuing to engage with your customers to learn more about their needs and wants.

No matter the size of your brand–big or small–let your audience know they matter. Customers will continue to remain loyal to your brand and new customers will be attracted. Always be authentic and timely when responding.

Share Stories + Moments That Matter

Our audience likes to see that we’re not just robots pumping out content to simply gain money and power. So, give them a “behind-the-scenes” look at what goes on at the office each day, share what goes into the products that you make, the personality of the people behind your brand or show how you’re interacting and giving back to the community. And don’t forget to celebrate customers — ask for reviews, photos and stories to share.

Say it With a Video

If you’re not already incorporating video into your content, you should work it into your 2019 marketing plan. Show your audience what you’re doing on a daily basis. Show how to use your products and the problems your product or service solves. Bringing out new products or services? Create a video about it.

We like to keep videos at 30-60 seconds for posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn feeds, and 15 second segments for platforms like Instagram Stories.

Show Your Followers They Can Trust You

Creating and building trust with your audience can be difficult. But, it can be done. And social media is a great way to do it. Start by thinking about your audience’s wants and needs every time you’re creating content. Ask yourself questions like: Is this relevant to them? Does this speak to our character as a company?

If you’re thinking about your audience when creating content, it will show. And, it will help to create an emotional connection with them, which will increase your chances of brand loyalty. Stop trying to sell and start communicating with naturally engaging content.

Don’t Forget About LinkedIn

We see a lot of businesses forget or brush off LinkedIn. But, not making the most of this social network could hinder your growth. One way to make use of LinkedIn is to use the recently relaunched “Groups” feature to create a community around your brand. It serves as a great place to share informative business content to groups and business that might not otherwise see your content.

LinkedIn continues to evolve and increase in use for business. And, after updating their algorithm in October of 2018, brands are noticing their posts are being seen and engaged with more frequently.

Mobile First

Finally, remember that most people interact on social media through their mobile devices. There are some exceptions of focusing on desktop audiences, however, as a whole you should think about your platforms and content with a mobile-first priority. All the content you share–including the websites linked in content–should be mobile-friendly.

It’s time to stop making excuses, stop passing on opportunities and invest in a social media strategy to help your business thrive. Partnering with an marketing agency that takes a targeted approach to implement a social media strategy that builds upon your overall marketing plan may be just what you need to reach more customers and achieve your business development goals.