Picture this. You’ve developed and implemented a fantastic social media strategy that has allowed you to identify your target audience, engage with them, and even convert a few followers to clients. And as far as your branding goes, you have worked tirelessly to perfect a consistent tone and aesthetic across all accounts.
Then one morning, you wake up to absolute chaos.
Marquette, your marketing elf, has been busy at work all night, destroying what you’ve built. He’s deleted most of your content, engaged unprofessionally with your followers, and posted selfies with nonsensical captions. The result of this chaos - your follower count has dwindled drastically and you’ve been identified as a spam account.
How do you recover and rebuild what had invested so much effort into?
Now compare Marquette’s antics to COVID-19. Businesses that previously felt confident enough in their social strategy had to reexamine what they knew and adapt to the chaos. Not only did they have to re-identify their target audiences, but they also had to develop a more intimate way to communicate and connect with them. Social media is a vital outlet that allows you to not only develop and promote your brand but also create and maintain valuable relationships with your audience. After all, “you’re in a relationship with the consumers you market to.”
To keep this relationship going, when reinventing your social media strategy, you want to get your follower count back up and reconnect with the individuals you're trying to reach. No matter who your target audience is, nobody likes to feel constantly bombarded with product promotions. Businesses, small and large, know this and have had to develop ways to remain relatable while simultaneously speaking directly to consumers. It takes a very detailed audit of your audience to find out how to do this effectively.
In mentioning the word, relatable, it is necessary to acknowledge the switch in social media, from the uber-polished influencer to the business or marketer. While the majority of us have been working in our home-bubbles, it has never been more rewarding for our mental health to know that we are not alone, and social media has been able to do just that.
So, like many other businesses throughout 2020, take this time of chaos and uncertainty and use it to rebuild a strategy that is not only good for your bank account but also your soul.
Find an audience that genuinely believes in your business or your products and develop new ways to connect with them. Create intentional content that serves multiple purposes for your business and audience, and be transparent when appropriate! By working diligently to create a new, impenetrable strategy, you can reclaim your social media accounts before Marquette can cause any more trouble.
At the core of this strategy should be a thorough and regular audit of all your social media platforms. The insight you gain from an audit allows you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current social media efforts. Your audience speaks to you through their engagement, and by listening, you can find ways to adjust and enhance your content. Invest the time and energy to identify areas of your strategy that need to be updated and improved, and create a plan that you can put into action.
Be bold and take 30 minutes a day to engage with your followers and get to know them! Marketing is a relationship, and it requires communication, understanding, and honesty among both parties. Ultimately, all we truly want is connection and not even Marquette can stop that!