Good Strategy And Better Storytelling: How To Get More From Social Media

The only way you can gain an appreciation for or dislike of social media is to be on it. And regardless of which side of the coin you land on, social media is here to stay.

Sure, the popularity of certain platforms will change, and new ones will emerge. But the force that is social media will continue to dominate consumer mobile devices for some time to come.

And because of the volume of content shared and consumed daily across multiple platforms, marketing your small business or nonprofit on social media has become increasingly competitive, completely dispelling the notion of social media being easy or free.

Social media has morphed into a highly targeted marketing channel that feeds off good strategy, deliberate engagement, and storytelling.

What is social media strategy?

Social media strategy is the “scaffolding and thought process ” behind how you’ll go about achieving the objectives that drove you to this channel in the first place.

Organizations use social media for numerous reasons. Small businesses may use it to drive traffic to their online store or deepen relationships with their customers. Nonprofits may use it to put a face on the issues they are trying to combat or to seek donations.

And going through the exercise of building a social media strategy not only increases your chances of being more effective but also keeps you aligned with your core business goals.

How to develop a social media strategy?

The first step is to listen. Social listening is often overlooked in the strategy process. When it’s done well, it can make a big difference in your outcomes.

If you’re a supplier of sunglasses, for example, you want to know what people are saying about sunglasses and where they’re saying it. You need to know which competitors have the biggest “community share” and how they go about engaging their fans.

Tools like Social Mention can help cut through the clutter and unveil insights into what’s working out there.

Listening in on these conversations will not only educate you but will also help direct you to the social media network that you’ll most likely find your audience.

Once you know where your audience is, you can then create native content to share within those communities. And a focus on storytelling is a good place to start.

The role of storytelling in social media strategy.

Identifying and listening to your audience leads to what will attract and keep your audience – your content.

Sharing brand stories, or glimpses of who you are and the purpose you serve told in narrative form, move you beyond transactional posts that are easily forgotten to creating memorable experiences that resonate with your audience.

For example, a nonprofit may provide clothing and shelter for battered women. But, through their social media strategy, they may choose to unpack the story of a survivor who may have walked into their care broken, but left renewed in confidence and spirit. And even a person who has never been touched by domestic violence can still relate to a story of loss and restoration.

People crave stories. And the science behind social media’s anatomy is fueled by them.

Managing and measuring your social media strategy.

Good content can’t save poor execution. To keep social media efforts consistent and continuous, identify who within your organization will manage the social media strategy as well as execute the communications laid out in the content calendar.

For each network you publish on, determine the benchmark for success, like increasing traffic to your website or receiving comments and shares. Optimize your content to help achieve those goals by using good images, proper tone, compelling stories, and the appropriate calls to action.

And remember that your strategy is only as good as your commitment to thinking it through, executing it well, and measuring its effectiveness.