If a content/ social media strategy isn’t part of your business development plan going into 2021. YOU are in trouble. The dialogue is changing in the business world. And it’s time to get ahead of the game when it comes to strategizing to position your business in the right direction to reap the rewards of digital marketing success. In the past the question was, “Should our team be focusing on creating content to grow our business?”
Today the better question is, “Who is going to create content the best and the fastest?”
You don’t want to be late to the game of sharing information. When you are late, you put yourself at risk of losing to a competitor, which in-turn can be a loss in potential revenue by not having a strong social/ digital presence. If there is no true digital presence, then you basically don’t exist from a brand standpoint and your competitors have a leg up on you. If you think that a sales team and cold calling is still your golden ticket, you are mistaken. Over the last 5 - 10 years businesses have shifted their game plan from sales and cold calling to digital content, social media and optimizing their website with a strong SEO strategy to draw in new customers to their business. That is the strategy that you should take as well, go 100% digital.
So go ahead and sit your team down and get to strategizing for 2021 business. Here are some easy ideas to get you rolling:
First, know your BRAND. The story of your business, your product and what makes you unique to the consumer is important to have hammered out before you even begin. If you don’t have this part ironed out, then content going forward can come off as confusing or not relatable. Write out your story and develop your voice.
Who is your TARGET AUDIENCE (age, gender, income, location, interests or a slew of other factors.) You don’t want to waste time marketing to an audience you don’t know. Once you know your true audience, ask the question “Why is my business unique to my customers? What value does my business bring the customer?” This will help you know who and how you are going to create content for.
CONTENT ORIGIN. Who is going to write the content for social media, for your website, for your blog? Don’t get stuck on this one.
Content can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
Start by recording a conversation about a hot topic related to your business or product. Talk it through with a coworker, a friend, or a family member. Talking out loud and recording it, can spark new ideas and make you think like your customer. Another idea is to look at bullet points from past meetings where you took notes - maybe something you jotted down can be your next blog post or social post.
Start a Content Bank with off the top of your head ideas and include links from articles you have seen! Content lives everywhere, you just have to be open minded and jot it down.
Get CREATIVE. We all have it in us to mend and mold content, just think like your Target Audience. Take the raw content from your Content Bank and turn it into marketing gold! Add links from related articles. Include eye-catching images from free stock photo sites like Pexels, UnSplash or Reshot. There are so many image options out there, you just have to do a little digging.
DISTRIBUTION. This is when you get to show the world who you are! Publish your content to your website blog and share the post to the social platforms that make sense for your Target Audience (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest etc.) When posting, think about how your viewers will connect. Sometimes it will need to be adjusted for the different channels, for instance, LinkedIn, a social media platform for professionals, so speak to your audience in a professional manner. Instagram is more casual, creating content in a way that it feels like the viewer is having a conversation. Remember to always review before hitting 'publish,' but if you missed something you can always edit later.
Creating a Digital and Social Media strategy shouldn’t come across as complicated or overwhelming. Take it one step at a time and remember to put yourself in your Target Audiences shoes and soon enough your business will take off in the digital world! If you are looking for more ideas on powering your social media strategy, check out one of my articles 100 Tips to Power Your Social Media Game