Whether your business has been dabbling with social media or you’re planning to get started with social channels for the first time, one of the best ways to put your marketing efforts on the right track is to come up with a social media strategy.

While there’s nothing wrong with spending some time getting to know how different social networks like Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter work, developing a strategy early on will help you avoid spending time on efforts that are unlikely to pay off in the long run.

Another benefit of coming up with a strategy is it will give your business a clear direction for your social media marketing. Although social channels can definitely help your business bring in new customers, social media isn’t a magic solution. As a result, it’s very helpful to have a concrete plan in place for how you want to market online.

Now that we’ve clarified why this type of strategy is so helpful, let’s take a look at what you need to do to put it together:

The 3 Components of a Solid Social Media Strategy

The first component of a useful social media strategy is a clear objective. Since there are a lot of different ways to go with social media, defining exactly what you want to accomplish and how that will benefit your business provides a lot of necessary clarity.

Once you know your objectives, you can plan on how you want to handle update frequency and engagement. Although it definitely takes some effort to fully utilize social media, the good news is there are social media management tools which can help streamline all of your efforts.

Last but not least is the importance of having a formal approach to reviewing data and adjusting future efforts accordingly. By ensuring that your strategy prioritizes iterations, you’ll be able to optimize all of your social media marketing and engagement efforts.

Don’t Worry About Figuring Out Everything on Your Own

If you’re excited by all the possibilities of social media but concerned that you’re not going to know where to start, the good news is you don’t need to find these answers on your own. Instead, you can give your business a head-start by going through a social media training program.

Because I know from personal experience and our experience working with clients across a wide range of industries what works best in regards to social media, my program can help your business avoid the mistakes that have created challenges for so many other businesses.

By the time you complete my program and receive your social media certification, you’ll have the skills and confidence needed to fully utilize social media to market your business.

Michelle Hummel is CEO of Web Strategy Plus a full-service digital marketing agency focused on Franchise Marketing. She was recently nominated for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year! She’s a passionate Social Media Trainer with 15+ years of successful online business development, sales, and marketing experience. She also holds a valuable Internet Marketing Degree however with the ever-changing world of web marketing she strives to learn something new every day. 

She travels Nationwide visiting her 22 Social Media Enthusiasts Chapters delivering in-depth social media training. She also provides Social Media Certifications through founding Web Media University. A current contributing editor to The Franchise Dictionary Magazine and she has written 3 books in her series called, “The Social Media Magnet: Everything You Need to Know to Attract Customers with Social Media”, where she shares her best-kept secrets to success. She also specializes in helping Franchisors and Franchisees develop an integrated web marketing program to drive leads. She’s available for interviews via email, telephone, Skype video, news segments on location and more. Just let her know how she can help!