9 minute read
Technology
The three-step process to an effective social media strategy
By Marta Ceccato SAPIENS MEDIA COACHING
In this day and age, social media is a crucial aspect of any business. Having an effective social media strategy can not only boost brand awareness, but also increase revenue.
Here are three key steps to build an effective social media strategy:
1 Defining the target audience Defining the target audience is essential to ensure time, money and resources are invested in the right content, formats and social media channels. The first step to determining the target audience is to establish: • What problems the businesses products or services solve • Who will benefit most from those products or services • Who the current customers are • Which types of customers the competitors attract Once the target audience has been defined, in order to determine where to focus, it’s key to ascertain on which social media channels they are most active, the type of content they like to consume and the type of formats they prefer (for example, video, blog, podcast, etc).
Setting specific and measurable goals
Setting specific goals (WHAT), how progress towards those goals will be measured (HOW) and the timeframe by which the goals should be achieved (WHEN) is key to monitor and assess how each social media activity is performing. To get the most out of social media, the social media goals should be aligned with the business objectives. For example, if the business objective is to raise brand awareness, the social media goal should be the number of potential customers reached through social media activities. Every social media platform offers in-depth analytics and insights that can be leveraged to track how social media activities are performing and whether they are reaching the right target audience. However, if the goals of the social media efforts are to drive traffic to a website or to generate sales, the best way to measure results is to use a web analytics platform such as Google Analytics. This is a free tool from Google that enables companies to monitor the number of visitors to a website, the number of pages viewed, number of sales, total revenue and much more.
3 Creating consistent and high-quality content Posting regularly and sharing high-quality content is essential to the success of a social media strategy. The purpose of social media content should be to: a. create an emotional connection with the audience
b. demonstrate expertise
c. promote and sell products and services When starting out with social media content planning, the 40-40-20 rule is a great way to ensure the right mix. • 40% of the content should focus on building lasting connections with the audience through storytelling. Storytelling involves using stories to tell why the business exists and what it stands for in a way that brings emotions and experiences to life. Sharing the business’s story and explaining its values help to draw in people who have the same values. It’s those common values that will keep the audience loyal to the business.
• 40% should inform and educate. The aim of educational and informative content is to answer questions, provide solutions and showcase expertise with the long-term goal of being seen as an authority in the sector. Once a business has established itself as an authority, followers are more willing to read its promotional content. • 20% should promote the business’s products or services. Promotional content focuses on products and services with the intent to convert followers into customers.
Planning and scheduling social media content is a good way to be consistent and to select a healthy mix of topics. Moreover, planning and scheduling tools are key not only to staying organised, but also to viewing all social media activities in one place and accessing invaluable data that can be utilized to understand what’s working – and what’s not. A great social media strategy is never set in stone and it’s continuously changing. Whether creating a post on Instagram, a video on YouTube or Twitter, everything has to fit together to help the business grow. Testing, analysing, and re-evaluating social content on an ongoing basis is the only way to create a social media strategy that evolves with the business.
Marta is an award-winning digital marketing and technologies expert with 15 years of marketing experience working with billion-dollar brands. She is the founder of Sapiens Media Coaching, a consultancy that focuses on making digital marketing simple for SMEs. Marta can be found at www.sapiensmediacoaching.com
WANDSWORTH COUNCIL announces £20m climate change investment Wandsworth Council is spending £20m on its environment and sustainability strategy as part of its plans to tackle climate change.
The move is part of Wandsworth’s ambitious plans to become innerLondon’s greenest borough and carbon-neutral by 2030.
Cllr Rory O’Broin, cabinet member for finance and corporate resources, is leading the climate change work in Wandsworth. He said: “This investment demonstrates how seriously we are taking our work to tackle climate change and sustainability generally.
“It is going to make a real difference to the delivery of our environment and sustainability strategy and will help fund a number of measures highlighted in the climate change action plan designed to reduce carbon emissions and tackle priority issues such as air quality. This will ultimately help to improve the lives of our residents and make Wandsworth a healthier and afer place to live.”
As a starting point, the £20m investment will fund measures around energy efficiency, air quality, urban greening, sustainable drainage and transport and cycling initiatives. The council has already made good progress, with £5m already spent on environmental schemes such as a comprehensive LED street light replacement programme and the roll-out of electric vehicle charging points.
The climate change action plan also has a number of important targets including increasing tree planting in the borough, purchasing a low-emission fleet, as well as launching a comprehensive training
programme on carbon literacy for staff.
A key element of the council’s work to tackle climate change is collaboration. To that end, the council has already started working with residents, businesses and community groups in pushing forward its green ambition.
Cllr O’Broin said: “We are committed to working with the community in delivering our action plan and making a greener and more sustainable borough. With this £20m investment our residents can see that we are serious about making our ambition a reality.”
Embrace the green revolution!
Many of you will have noted that Wandsworth Council has declared a climate emergency back in July 2019 to be carbon neutral by 2030 and zero Carbon by 2050 (in case you were wondering about the difference, carbon-neutral allows for carbon offsetting). You may now be wondering how you can do your bit but have a knowledge gap. Well, help in on hand. CREW Energy is your local, friendly community energy group. We are a not-for-profit community benefit society that started trading in 2017. We help companies, charities and other community groups develop sustainability plans. We also run energy cafes across the borough to help alleviate fuel poverty and give energy savings advice. We can help your business scope out a sustainability programme, assist with funding opportunities and manage project delivery. This year we have delivered LED lighting projects, solar PV, battery storage, heating solutions and building management systems. We have a pipeline that also includes heat pumps and demand-side response services. If you feel you are paying too much for your energy, we can help with that too. You may be asking why you should be considering embracing the green revolution. Well, obviously it’s the right thing to do; cutting emissions slows climate change and improves local air quality. Secondly, these measures make economic sense. By installing LEDs, for example, you can often get payback in under three years. Another consideration is that for an increasing number of consumers the provenance of the goods and services they purchase is a priority. A recent study found that 75% of people under 45 years old would be prepared to pay more for a product that had an ethical or environmental origin. So, it makes good business sense too. CREW Energy’s work fits well with Wandsworth Council’s mission to make the borough the greenest in inner-London. Cllr Rory O’Broin, Wandsworth Council’s cabinet member for finance and corporate resources – and who is leading the council’s work on climate change – said: “Wandsworth Council aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 and we have already committed up to £20m in helping to deliver on our environmental and sustainability strategy. “At the same time, we recognise that the council alone will not be able to reduce carbon emissions in our borough, and we all have a responsibility when it comes to climate change. “The work that CREW Energy is doing in helping businesses become more sustainable is a great example of a community organisation supporting our aspirations and building a greener borough.” For more information on what you can do to make Wandsworth greener, contact us at info@crewenergy.london
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