Ever feel like you’re chasing your own tail when it comes to your social media efforts? Approaching social media without an effective social media marketing plan strategy can sometimes be a ‘lil like that… okay, a lot like that. Here’s why you should be investing in developing a social media marketing plan strategy for your business.
It’s where your customers are hangin’ out
With 6 in 10 Australians using Facebook, there’s bound to be a social media platform out there where your ideal customers are hanging out. While that’s a huge number, the stats don’t quite stop there:
- 50% of the country logs onto Facebook at least once a day
- 1 in 3 Australians use Instagram
- LinkedIn reports there are 10 million + registered users in Australia
- TikTok continues to see rapid growth in their registered users, with Australians spending 23.4 hours per month on the platform
Those impressive numbers also highlight some significant changes in consumer behaviour, with people increasingly turning to social media platforms to look for brands, products or services. One Google executive has even remarked on rival app’s search capabilities, saying “something like almost 40 percent of young people, when they’re looking for a place for lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search. They go to TikTok or Instagram.”
If those numbers aren’t quite enough to convince you that you need a social media marketing plan strategy to know where your customers are hangin’ out, then read on.
You gotta show [strategically] to remain competitive
If the last few years have taught us anything as business owners or marketers, it’s that customers expect us to have a presence not just online, but also on social media. If you’re not showing up, you may not even exist to a portion of your target audience.
Taking that one step further, by not showing up you’re giving your competitors that are showing up on socials a leg up in the competition. With over 93% of businesses showing up on Facebook, you may have to be a li’l more strategic than just posting for the sake of posting.
Source: https://buffer.com/state-of-social-2019
Taking it one step further, developing an effective social media marketing plan strategy is more than just the content you share and the platforms you show up on [don’t fret, Lisa’s got you covered on how to actually develop one here]. It’s also how you engage with your followers, whether that be regular ol’ conversations in the comments section or the way you manage customer service on the platform. In fact, Sprout Social found that 78% of consumers are more willing to buy from a brand and 77% will choose a brand over a competitor after a positive experience with a brand on social media.
You’re the one in the driver’s seat [mostly]
While there may be instances where you can’t quite control what’s said about you or your business online, by approaching your online presence with a strategic lens you’ll be a whole lot more in control of how your brand is portrayed online.
If you’re posting ad hoc and with little rhyme or reason, that’s what your messaging and approach is going to come across as. You’ll find that your important messages, key selling points and even your brand personality get lost, which ultimately will confuse your customers.
By developing a comprehensive plan, you’ll be able to build a stronger, consistent and more authentic presence on whatever platforms you decide to show up on. That’s not even mentioning other benefits like saving time in the long run, reaching your audience more effectively and leaving room for creativity [and better content].
You’re working towards goals that matter for your business
We could go on and on about why you need a social media marketing plan strategy for your business, but ultimately it comes down to being able to achieve the goals that matter for your business.
Without a strategy that outlines what your goals are, where you’re going to show up and how you’re going to show up, all of your efforts may end up being a li’l counterproductive. To make sure your efforts, time and resources are generating results that are important to you, it’s important to invest the time and energy into developing a strategy to unlock social media success.
Now that you’re absolutely convinced that you need a social media marketing plan strategy, you’ll be smashing goals all over the place!
If you’re still feeling a tad overwhelmed and worried about being permanently attached to your phone [don’t worry, we’ve all been there], we’ve got just the thing for you! Our ‘How to reduce your social media overwhelm’ lunch and learn will have social media working for you instead of the other way around.
Maybe you’re looking for a little bit more handholding when it comes to developing your social media marketing plan strategy. During our custom strategy sessions, we spend 2 hours deep diving into a plan and strategy completely tailored to your business and goals.
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