You’re ready to take your small business social — that’s great news!

Social media presents a ton of opportunities for small businesses to connect with their customers and create a strong, loyal following.

But before you start sharing content willy-nilly, it’s important to have a plan in place.

A social media marketing plan will help ensure that your hard work pays off by helping you achieve your business goals.

Not sure where to start?

Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. This blog post will walk you through creating a social media marketing plan from start to finish. Let’s dive in!

The first step in creating your social media marketing plan is to define your goals.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What do you want to accomplish with social media?
• Do you want to increase brand awareness?
• Drive website traffic?
• Generate leads?
• Collect customer feedback?
• Create a community of loyal fans?

Your goals will dictate the rest of your social media marketing plan, so it’s important to consider what you want to achieve.

Once you know what you want to accomplish with social media presence, it’s time to research your competition.

Check out what they’re doing with their posts — see what’s working well for them and what resonates with their audience the most.

Then, brainstorm ways that you can do things better or differently. This will help you stand out from the competition and give your small business a unique voice on social media.

Next up, it’s time to identify your target audience.

Who are the people that you want to reach with your social media content? Who are your customers?

Keep in mind that your target audience won’t be everyone — you need to be specific here. Consider their age, gender, interests, location, and other relevant factors.

Once you know who you’re targeting, you can create content that appeals directly to them.

Not all social media platforms are created equal — it’s time to choose the right platforms for your business.

Below are some factors to consider when making this decision: 

• Who is your target audience?  Different platforms have different demographics—for example, Facebook has an older user base, while TikTok has a younger one. 
  
  Make sure you choose platforms where your intended target audience is active.

• What kind of content do you want to share? Some platforms are better suited for certain types of content than others.
  
  For example, if you want to share a lot of visuals (like infographics or product photos), Pinterest or Instagram might be a good fit for you, while Twitter is a text-based platform. 

• How much time can you commit? Each platform requires different levels of engagement.
  
  For example, Twitter moves quickly, so if you’re unable to post multiple times per day, it might not be the best platform for your business. If you only have time for one or two posts per week, LinkedIn would be a good option since you can get away with less frequent posting there.  

Once you’ve considered all these factors, you should know which platforms will best fit your business — remember that you don’t have to be present on every platform — focus on the ones that make the most sense for your business. 

Now that you know which platforms to use, it’s time to start creating content. But before you start randomly posting things, it’s important to have a plan in place.

That’s where a content calendar comes in. A content calendar is a tool that can be used to plan and organize your social media content.

It helps you track what you want to post when you want to post it, and which platforms you want to post it on.

You want to ensure that your social media content is cohesive and aligns with your business goals. There are a few different ways that you can create a content calendar.

Pro Tip: You can use an Excel spreadsheet, Google Calendar, or a CRM tool like Trello.

Once your content calendar is set up, start brainstorming ideas for content you want to post. These ideas can easily come from existing blog posts, infographics, or even industry news and quotes that you think would be relevant to your audience.

Your social media content should be compelling, interesting, and engaging.

It should be something that people will want to share with their networks.

Remember, social media is all about building relationships. You want to create content that will start conversations and get people talking.

When creating content, keep the following things in mind: 

• Be authentic and transparent. Don’t try to hide who you are — let your personality shine through.

• Be consistent with your brand voice. Make sure that the content you’re posting aligns with how you want your brand to be perceived.

• Be responsive. If someone leaves a comment on one of your posts, take the time to respond to them. This shows that you care about what people are saying and are interested in engaging with them.

Creating a social media marketing plan may seem like a lot of work at first, but it’s essential for any business that wants to succeed and have an online presence.

By setting goals, identifying your target audience, choosing the right platforms, and creating engaging content, you’ll be well on your way to social media success!

Do you have any questions about social media marketing? Let us know in the comments below!