One small step moves us from one place to another. Steps can take us to a desired destination or lead us off the path. Social media marketing is a path to a destination. These three steps can help keep you on the right path.
Social media marketing uses social media platforms to engage with new and existing clients while building your brand and driving website traffic. With a busy practice and numerous media platforms, it is easy to get distracted and wander off the path wasting time and valuable resources in your digital marketing strategy.
These three steps can help keep you on a path for successful social media marketing.
Step 1: Define your mission and your goals.
Defining your mission starts with one question – Why are you using social media for your practice? Asking why gives you a big picture look at your destination. Then, and only then, can you begin to plan how to get there. Your goals are the steps that help you achieve the mission. They should be S.M.A.R.T goals – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
Step 2: Determine your audience, competitors, and platforms.
Be intentional in identifying your audience. Who are you trying to reach? Imagine and sketch out the characteristics of your target audience. Determine who your major competitors are and how your practice stands apart from them. Then, determine which social media platforms your practice should use. Not all platforms will give you the same return. Consider which platforms your target audience uses so that you can reach them there.
Step 3: Deliberate on content, performance, tools, and team.
Consider carefully your content. Your content must suit the platform. Will your practice use blogs, pictures, videos or a combination? Then, use analytics to determine the performance of your content. What works and what doesn’t work? Tools like scheduling and analytics can help your practice get the most out of digital marketing, so deliberate and decide on what tools work well for your practice. Lastly, clearly define who will be responsible for your social media marketing.
As you walk down your social media marketing path, take time to look back at where you have been. Did you stay on the path you set? Did you meet the goals you set to achieve the mission? Did you wander off at any point? If so, adjust and get back on course.
Small steps over time can move us long distances. Three simple steps can help keep you on your social media marketing path and help you reach your desired destination.
Katy Puckett has over 25 years of experience in business management, education, and client relationships.
