Step-by-Step Social Media Strategy in 2024

Social media plays a vital role for businesses of all scales, ranging from local businesses like Joe’s Café to global giants such as Nike. When exploring a new business, one of my initial steps is to investigate its presence on social media.

Social media transcends being a mere trend; it has become deeply ingrained in our daily routines and societal fabric, accessible through smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs, and even refrigerators. It stands as a permanent fixture, granting direct engagement with your target audience across diverse platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, and YouTube.

1. Preparing audience profiles

Identifying who you want to reach via social media should be done early in the planning process. Each member of your social media team must have great clarity when contending with these questions:

– Who am I speaking to through my social media?

– What gender and age group do they belong to?

– What are their most active times on social media?

– What are their interests?

– What are their pain points?

– How can my product/service address these needs?

The answers to these questions help estimate your target audience, ensuring your content resonates with the right people.

2. Choosing relevant social media platforms

The spray-and-pray approach to growing your social media is outdated. Social media managers must identify and prioritize growing in select platforms that align best with their audience’s preferences and business objectives. Rather than setting up profiles and promoting content on all platforms, prioritize those platforms where your target demographic is most active and engaged.

For instance:

– LinkedIn is the go-to platform for networking, recruiting, and sharing industry insights. 82% of B2B marketers find LinkedIn brings in the most success compared to other social media platforms.

– Twitter is effective for news, real-time conversations, and updates, making it invaluable for thought leaders, journalists, and brands that thrive on staying topical.

– Instagram and TikTok are increasingly used by Gen Z to learn more about local businesses, making these platforms essential if that’s your target cohort.

3. Framing clear brand guidelines

To distinguish yourself from the competition, have clear and identifiable guidelines, including profile images, brand logo colors, typeface, language, and tone of conversation. Ensure consistency across all your social posts and channels to foster brand recognition. Brand guidelines also encompass legal compliance, addressing issues like copyright violations and the use of AI.

4. Understanding social media algorithms

Think of social media algorithms as a higher authority influencing what people see on their feeds, compelling you to adapt. These rules and signals consider a user’s behavior and past content consumption patterns. Social media managers must update themselves with the latest algorithmic changes to modify their content. Following platform-specific algorithms improves your social media presence and reaches a wider audience.

5. Creating a content calendar

Having a clear, categorized map of your content strategy simplifies social media management. Every month, prepare a content calendar specifying the type of content for each network, planned promotional activities, posting times, and designated person responsible for updates. Use tools to have your content calendar on one dashboard, seamlessly scheduling posts across all handles and updating status reports.

6. Streamlining your workflow

A streamlined workflow ensures consistency, minimizes risk, and improves overall performance. Tools allow you to customize workspaces, add users, grant permissions, and seek quick approvals, reducing the back-and-forth and approval hassles common in social media teams managing multiple clients.

7. Engaging in social listening

Social listening can help determine trends in your niche and what people expect from you or your competitors. It’s a valuable tool for gauging public opinion and conducting market research. 

8. Leveraging the potential of AI

AI tools significantly streamline content creation and analytical reporting, making processes more efficient and quicker. Influencer Marketing Hub’s survey found that over 60% of marketers use AI in marketing. Tools can optimize content creation, automate scheduling, and enhance analytical precision, ensuring maximum engagement and ROI.

What are the top social trends for 2024?

1. The AI trend

Generative AI created a seismic shift when it broke into the mainstream in 2022. Organizations report planning to double or even triple their use of AI in social media across various activities. However, our survey revealed that audiences are not necessarily embracing AI-generated content as much as social marketers are flocking to use it. Different generations have varying levels of trust towards AI-generated content. Gen Z is more likely to engage with AI content, while baby boomers are more skeptical.

How to work smarter with AI:

– Know your audience and their feelings about AI.

– Decide which tasks to delegate to AI and which to handle personally.

– Create AI policies and best practices for social media to align your team and avoid potential issues.

2. The platform trend

Instead of trying to maintain a presence on multiple networks, organizations are prioritizing their platform-by-platform ROI scores and making business decisions accordingly. Social content needs to be tailored to the unique audiences, trends, hashtags, and visual specs of each platform. With platforms constantly changing, it’s challenging for organizations to keep up. In 2024, strategic brands commit to their champion social platforms, prioritizing the ones that deliver the best ROI.

By implementing these best practices, social media managers can effectively navigate the dynamic landscape of social media marketing in 2024, ensuring their strategies are aligned with current trends and technological advancements.

Conclusion 

Given that more than 60% of the world’s population engages with social media, B2B marketers must recognize its critical importance. To succeed in 2024, marketers need to constantly adjust to emerging trends and technological innovations.

This involves crafting detailed audience profiles, choosing appropriate platforms, maintaining consistent brand standards, mastering social media algorithms, planning thorough content schedules, optimizing workflows, practicing social listening, and harnessing AI capabilities. These strategies are essential for businesses to remain competitive and achieve optimal engagement and return on investment amid the dynamic digital environment.