By Kate Ware

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by managing your own social media? Are you banging away on Facebook in search of elusive organic reach? Instagramming like a warrior and not yet reaping the rewards? Retweeting and liking and subscribing and following and screenshotting and allllll the things…?

Do you know why you are doing it?

It’s not that I think your business shouldn't be on social media. It’s an odds-on bet it should – in some capacity at least!

But the critical part of this question is the ‘why’… So, if you can articulate the purpose of your social media activity and how this aligns to your business strategy right now, then read no further! But if you’re not sure – and it's absolutely OK to not be sure – maybe read on a bit 😉

It goes something like this – being active on social media without a strategy is a little like going on a family road trip without your GPS. You’d hardly risk your relationship (in this case, your business) on a crazy idea like that, would you now!

A social strategy gives you clarity

When you write a social media strategy, you are ensuring your digital activity is directly assisting you to achieve your business goals. For example, if one of your goals is to connect more with industry thought leaders and influencers, a Twitter outreach campaign might form part of your strategy. If you’re looking to gain more traction, and therefore conversions, within an existing audience, a targeted advertising campaign might be included within your Facebook strategy. Articulating your strategy means that each and every action you take on social media has a purpose because it specifically relates back to your big picture goals.

A social media strategy keeps you talking to the right people

If you haven’t already identified your target audience (brand personas, or avatars) as part of a brand strategy, now is the time to do so. Your target audience will be revisited when developing a social media strategy in order to drill down and analyse where it is they ‘play', how often they are online and what time of day they are most active. Your strategy would also articulate your brand’s tone of voice, to ensure you are speaking the ‘same language’ as your community.

A social media strategy will keep you ‘on brand'

Some people don’t realise a brand is much more than just a logo. While a logo is a critical component, your brand is also your beliefs, your story, your promise and of course, your imagery, colours, typography, copy etc. When developing your social media strategy, make sure it covers how your brand is applied to your chosen social media channels to tell your story and create a cohesive look and feel.

A social media strategy will keep you ‘on message’

Each social media channel should have it’s own unique set of goals and key messages. Are you broadcasting your messages Pinterest or Snapchat? Are you generating and leading conversations on Twitter and Facebook? Are you creating shareable content on Instagram? It can be easy to confuse messages across your channels, however, if you are clear on your purpose, you can create unique and valuable content for each of your communities across your social media platforms.

A social media strategy will save you time

Ever sat down at your computer to schedule your social media and had no idea what to create? An important component of your social media strategy is the content calendar. Planning your content ahead of time means you’ll no longer have to rack your brains each day for ideas on what to post, on which channel, and at what time of day.  This increased productivity means more time for you to reinvest in your business! Win!

A social media strategy will help track your ROI

By articulating the goals and objectives of each social media channel, you are also establishing the benchmarks for future measurement. While ROI is a somewhat dry and often forgotten component of the strategy, it is critical in understanding the successes of your business’ social media activity and for planning future campaigns and promotions.

Social media strategy = business nirvana!

A well-written strategy will give your business’ social media the focus and direction it needs to thrive, because if you are clear on who you are, and what you’re doing, then your audience will understand too. And with them engaged and on board, it means you're one step closer to achieving your goals – whatever they may be!

Kate Ware is the Director, brain and talent behind BuzzPop Brands, a boutique digital marketing agency combining new-school thinking with old-school service.

For almost ten years, Kate has worked alongside some of Australia’s most loved (and at times, hated!) brands on design, communication and marketing projects. Now with a focus on brand and social media strategy, she loves working with savvy entrepreneurs to support them in bringing their business visions to life by discovering what it is that lies at the heart of their brand.