4 Essential Steps To Crush It On Social Media Today!

Getting started on Digital Marketing does not have to be hard. Here are 4 essential steps you need to take to crush it on Social Media today!

1. Be intentional with your strategy (from day 1)

There is a tendency for many people to develop the hustle mindset. It's the belief that in case you run faster, create more, share more, do more... It'll translate into success. While there is nothing wrong with hustle, the problem for many is blind hustle. Blindly running following social media with no goals in mind.

But I'm a firm believer in becoming smarter about how you are using social media. Rather than throwing content on the Social Media wall and hoping it sticks. you need to be strategic and have a plan with clear goals. You need to know upfront:

• what you are sharing
• why you are sharing it, and
• where you are sharing it

There is no question, no excuses, and no inconsistencies. And we take that same approach. If you are intentional from day 1, you stop running and start taking actionable steps towards outcomes.

For plenty of business owners, there is overwhelm in regards to getting started on social networking. With so many diverse platforms, where do you start? I am a big believer in that you don't need to be everywhere. Find a couple of platforms that you truly enjoy -- that your clients are on, like here on Linkedin!

The second part of intention is creating a strategy. Do not simply put content out there, because guru's (like me :) ) said you need to post three times a day.

Times have changed in a really short timeframe. We fed into that trend of "Create more" and "Get more done." but now we have come full circle and are back to be deliberate, understand your audience, and understand what they're searching for.

You can still curate excellent content. You can still put great content on your social media channels, but we have finally come back from the "less is more" mentality.

2. Stay focused on the plan

Where you put your attention and on what stage is different for every business. But one thing is the same. Staying committed to your strategy is crucial.

Most people give up too quickly, but you really have to be consistent. You can't measure anything without at least three months of trying it consistently.

Whether it is facebook advertisements, blog articles or email marketing. Whatever sort of marketing you are doing, it requires three or more months -- sometimes over 6 weeks to determine if it is working.

It's so crucial for anyone managing social websites, that you put your expectations, that you realize results could take three months or more. You have got to commit to doing it repeatedly.

Get focused on the plan and stay with it... No matter what it takes.

3. Accentuate your strengths

When you haven't heard me say it before, allow me to mention it again. If you're developing a business, you must focus on, and accentuate your strengths. Then give away all of the rest. As agency owner I surround myself daily with people better, brighter, and more skilled than me.

With good reason. They allow me to get more done by letting me concentrate on what we do best.

Sometimes as a business owner, we are afraid to get an assistant or an editor or copywriter to help us perform the heavy lifting since it's money out our pocket. However, I think you should do what you do best. Do not be afraid to get that help. Not outsourcing it, or sending and forgetting, but getting some help, and putting some time in your schedule, even if it's only a couple minutes in the morning.

There is that initial barrier of making it a habit. Quite often, we think of social media as something we have got to do, but we do not think of it as any other type of appointment, and it's -- a commitment to yourself, and to your organization.

4. Design a strategy around your audience

The first step is figuring out the proper platforms:

• where would you like to be?
• what is getting you the maximum return?

Do not be afraid to try things out. Even if you feel like you do not know what you are doing, just check it out. Here's what we suggest to implement:

Send an email to your database and ask them "We're working on our social media strategy. Where do you spend the most time? Figure out where your customers are.

Then, think about what type of content you could create that can tell a story of what it's like to work with you. Do you like to write? If you do, then blogging might be for you. If you hate writing, but you can talk, maybe it's facebook live. Start to think about content and the type of content you'll share.

And finally, take out a notebook and a pen, and start to brainstorm. What are the questions people ask you all the time? Those little things can turn into a facebook live, a video, a blog post.

Start there, and if you're not sure, put a post out on facebook. Ask: what are your biggest questions (fill in the blank)?

In our next article we will cover another 4 crucial steps for getting the best ROI on Social Media.

To your succes,

Wilfried Ligthart

Founder of Digital Blacksmiths