Here are some strategies to keep in mind when creating your social media marketing plan:

1. Focus on ONE Platform.

To start, focus on only one platform where your ideal clients are hanging out and get really great at it. Dive in, spend lots of time on it and really grow a following of ideal clients in your target market. Once you have one platform down, then you can add other platforms that you occasionally post to but continue to stay focused on your #1!

2. Recycle Content

Use the same content across platforms if possible. Recycle! If you post a great quote photo on Instagram, use it the next week on Facebook. You want your brand to come alive on each social media platform separately so don’t post the same content every day, but mix it up and go back into the archives and consistently repost. Content doesn’t always have to be new!

3. Don’t Sell

No one wants to feel like they are being sold to, but people do value education and inspiration. So, how can you provide value and position yourself as an expert on social media? Then, provide FREE ebooks, webinars, or services to your social media followings to have them take the next step for you to be able to help them. Remember, it’s not all about selling. You are HELPING, right?

4. Keep Personal Stuff to the Minimum

Yes, people may want to know you and what your dog looks like, but keep that stuff on your personal profiles. Our followings and brand growth occurred when we stopped posting all about us and started posting more of what we knew our clients needed and wanted.

An occasional photo of behind the scenes or what the CEO or Founder of your company is up to is totally fine, but keep your photos, links, and profiles on brand as much as possible so your followers know what they can expect from you.

When you follow CCG on Instagram, you don’t see pics of my family anymore. You see consistent messaging about career motivation and work inspiration multiple times a day. If you want to follow me personally, just send me a friend request on Facebook instead.

5. Create a Plan & Stick to a Schedule

No wasting time! You don’t want to be last minute posting to your social media platforms because you need to be focusing on revenue generating activities 80% of the time in your business. So, 20% of your week, try batching your social media accounts using postplanner, HootSuite, or directly to Facebook. Focus on working ON your business, not in your business as much as possible.

6. Create a Content Library.

Use Evernote or Dropbox to create a content library so you always have an easy place to find quotes, ideas, and photos.  Gather tips, photos, questions, and quotes you can use across platforms. This is also a great thing to start delegating, because as soon as you have a content library, you can start replacing yourself by handing things off to a virtual assistant.

7. Curate Other People’s Content

Don’t know what to post? No worries! Part of being a great social media marketing manager is finding great content to share and curating other people’s content. For example, you can retweet other people’s tweets. You can #regram other people’s photos on Instagram, and you can share other people’s links on Facebook. Your followers will look to you as a great resource for content and the go-to place to find information about your topic.

Share a link to your favorite social media marketing platform in the comments below.

[Photo: Jessie Howie]