Social media planning is crucial for building a strong online presence and engaging with your audience effectively. Although it is important to be reactive and jump on relevant trends, having a steady stream of well-planned social media posts means you can consistently deliver value to your audience, without constantly having to think on your feet. Here’s our top dos and don’ts to get you started with your social media planning.
The dos of social media planning
1. Define clear goals
Do: set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or boosting sales – clear objectives guide your strategy and help you measure success.
2. Know your audience
Do: research your target audience thoroughly. Understand their demographics, interests, and online behaviour. Tailoring your content to your audience’s preferences ensures higher engagement and relevance.
3. Create a content calendar
Do: plan your content in advance using a content calendar. This helps you maintain a consistent posting schedule, stay organised, and align your posts with key dates, events, or promotions. Websites such as National Today can help you choose the key dates relevant for your business.
4. Schedule your posts
Do: use tools such as Hootsuite to plan and schedule your social media posts. This allows you to choose the date and time your posts go out and what platforms they appear on. This means you can plan ahead knowing your posts are scheduled and managed all in one place.
5. Collaborate
Do: loop other team members and stakeholders into the planning process and integrate their ideas into the plan. Involving design teams, your client or even sales teams in the planning process can help generate new ideas and ensures a joined-up approach. Use tools like Mural to share ideas and collaborate remotely.
6. Utilise analytics
Do: use analytics tools to track your performance. Analyse data to understand what works and what doesn’t. Adjust your strategy based on insights gained from metrics like engagement rates, reach, and conversion rates. Targets and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) will help you understand what ‘good’ looks like.
7. Leverage visual content
Do: incorporate high-quality images, videos, infographics, and other visual elements. Visual content is more engaging and shareable, making it essential for capturing your audience’s attention.
8. Stay updated with trends
Do: keep an eye on social media trends and adapt your strategy accordingly. Being aware of the latest trends helps you stay relevant and innovative in your approach.
The don’ts of social media planning
1. Avoid over promotion
Don’t: focus solely on promoting your products or services. A balance between promotional content and value driven content, such as tips, industry news, and user generated content, is key to keeping your audience engaged.
2. Forget about your posts
Don’t: become so far ahead you forget about what is going out on social media that day or that week. If you’re scheduling in advance its easy to get sidelined by new and upcoming content but it’s important to see how live posts are performing so you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
Top tip: if your post is performing well organically why not boost it? Every social media platform offers the opportunity to put spend behind a post and make it into an ad – this is a great way of getting a wider audience to see your post.
3. Post inconsistently
Don’t: post irregularly or sporadically. Consistency is crucial for maintaining your audience’s interest and ensuring that your content reaches them effectively.
4. Use the same content across all platforms
Don’t: treat all social media platforms the same. Tailor your content to suit the unique characteristics and audience preferences of each platform. What works on TikTok might not work on LinkedIn for example.
6. Plan everything
Don’t: be afraid to adapt or change your plan if there is a new trend which requires you to be reactive. Alternatively, if there is something prevalent in the media that day it may also work better for your brand to not post anything, at the risk of being lost in the noise or worse appearing insensitive of current events.
Effective social media planning is about striking a balance between strategic foresight and adaptability. By following these dos and don’ts, you can build a robust social media strategy that not only amplifies your brand’s presence, but also creates a genuine connection with your audience. Remember, social media is ever evolving, so staying informed and flexible is key to long-term success.