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Historically, social media has primarily been used for personal reasons to connect with friends and family, or to join a community that shares similar interests. Now, more than ever and specially during lockdown, the impact of social media for business is huge! That’s why the importance of planning your social media content is key in your marketing strategy.
You need to learn what your audience wants to hear about, what they want to read or watch and turn this information into bite sized chunks that make sense. Overloading people with too much of the wrong information will drive them away and similarly constantly bombarding your audience will make them feel overwhelmed and unengaged – the total opposite of what you want to achieve.
That’s why I have created a dedicated content planning toolkit to support you with what to post, when to post, where to post and how to post for better social results. Planning content is step 6 in my 10 step social media strategy pathway and I will now share some expert tips that will help you realise the importance of planning your social media content.
Plan your content:
Your social media activity should support your overall business goals - i.e. if a workshop is planned in March, post your content in January and February to support and promote this activity. Your content should be planned and scheduled, potentially weeks or months in advance using the scheduling tools available to you.
Plan around business activity:
This information is key to understanding your planned business activity for the forthcoming quarter and therefore shapes the content of your social media activity, especially for seasonal businesses:
Quarter - e.g. Q4
Month - e.g. October – November – December
Seasonal Events - e.g. autumn & Halloween – fireworks night – Christmas
Key Activities - e.g. date of workshop or event, new product launch, special promotion
Core Focus - e.g. objectives for the period such as: sell 100 units of a specific product, fill 6 places on workshop, increase traffic to website by 5%, gain 20 new followers on a social platform
Content Theme - e.g. mindfulness
Other ideas - e.g. October is Mental Health month
Create a schedule and plan what, where, who, when. Think about these areas:
Channel - which social media platform
Post Type - what is the purpose of the post
Format - what type of format is the post
Text/Copy - what is the message and sentiment to be used i.e. customer testimonial, tips or product knowledge
CTA - what Call To Action is required i.e. Book an appointment, Call for more information
Link URL - what external links are to be included i.e. a link to your business website/products or latest blog
Hashtags - what hashtags need to be included in the post
Image Preview - create branded images i.e. something with colour and impact or record video content i.e. top tips or service demonstration
Plan your Content Mix:
To keep your content interesting and varied use a mix of post types: images, videos, GIFs, polls and links -i.e. to your web/blog content. Try adopting the 70-20-10 approach:
70% - Publish original material
2️0% - Share existing content that’s relevant to your audience’s interests
1️0% - Create self-promotional content
Planning social media content may feel like organised chaos, but in the words of Oscar Wilde, “Spontaneity is a meticulously prepared art”. Careful planning will get you the engagement you need with the right people and create the business connections that will support your business going forward.
If you need support in professionally planning your content, get in touch with Rachel, your expert social media manager and get access to her special offer content creation toolkit today.
If you need help to create or apply your social media strategy or content, get in touch. I'd love to help you become more social media savvy!
Drop me a DM on Electric Footprint
Give me a call 07958 231817 for a no obligation chat
I'm here to help.
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