Starting, or updating, your social media platforms and strategy can seem daunting. Whether you’ve got lots of experience or none at all, the world of social media is a big place with constantly changing rules, algorithms and trends. Luckily, we’ve broken down our top tips for hacking your social media strategy below. These tips will work for novices and social media pros alike - so don’t be shy, bookmark this blog to refer back to it again and again!
Create a content calendar
Take a giant step back and observe your social media content as a whole, rather than as individual posts. By doing this, you will be able to more efficiently plan out your content and spot potential holes or opportunities for additional ideas, cross-posting or trends.
Build out a content calendar that works for you - not every content calendar layout will work for everyone. At a minimum, we highly recommend including the following;
Important dates - Include holidays, product launches, etc.
The dates you plan to post - Will you post every day? Four times a week?
The assets you’ll be using, or need to create
Copy to match the sentiment of the post/assets
Set your Content Pillars
Organize yourself by creating specific content pillars (AKA topics, themes or buckets) that you’ll focus on across all platforms. Refer back to your content pillars as you build out your content calendar. Are you hitting all your content pillars this week/month? Are your topics balanced?
Content pillars will vary by your niche and goals, however, we recommend focusing on three to five total.
Select your tone of voice
Crafting copy for your social media posts is important! This is a way to speak directly to your audience and we highly recommend keeping your tone of voice consistent throughout all your posts and responses.
For example, are you fun and quirky, serious and formal, or educational but approachable? Will you use emojis? The list goes on and on!
Create content in bulk
Content should feel visually consistent and bulk-creating your content can help with this. Using similar lighting, angles, colours and backgrounds for multiple images can help create a feel of consistency. Caution: Be consistent without being uniform - there should be some variation but within a predetermined theme/colour scheme.
Pro-tip: Set aside a day or two per week to batch create your content for the upcoming weeks. During this time, create both video and photo content focusing on your niche that can be repurposed on multiple platforms… cue the next tip!
Repurpose content across multiple platforms
Cross-posting your content across multiple platforms won’t just save you time, it will also get more value out of your content. It is important to keep in mind however, the different formats of each platform during your batch content creation. For example, vertical video is perfect for TikTok as well as Instagram/Facebook Reels and Stories.
Prep + schedule ahead of time
There are so many tools available for businesses and individuals to help keep you and your team organized - take advantage! Lean on programs such as Later, SproutSocial, Falcon or ZohoSocial to help you to schedule your content ahead of time and plan out your feed/grid. Once your content is scheduled, let the programs do their thing and post for you with very little daily upkeep needed.
Use your analytics!
What do trends, algorithms and styles all have in common? They are constantly evolving!
Make sure to pay close attention to your analytics on each platform to see what your audience is responding positively and negatively to - and most importantly, be willing to adjust accordingly. Your analytics put you in the power seat and allow you to learn more about your audience, which in turn allows you to tailor your content to drive better results.
Searching for some additional assistance? Send us an email at info@thisisbpr.com to inquire about our Social Media services.
