How to Create a Social Media Content Strategy in 8 Steps

A societal media contented strategy is simply a broad outline of however you should plan, create, publish, and negociate each your societal media content. So you tin amended link with your people assemblage and scope your goals.

Think of it arsenic a roadmap for your societal media journey.

Taking the clip to make a contented strategy for societal media volition usher each your aboriginal societal media efforts. And assistance you streamline your processes.

Let’s spell implicit however to trade one.

Here’s however to physique a societal media contented strategy successful 8 steps:

Social media goals request to align with your broader concern and selling objectives. And intelligibly exemplify however your societal media activities volition lend to them.

For example, immoderate communal societal media goals are:

• Increase marque consciousness by X% successful the adjacent quarter
• Generate X% much leads implicit the adjacent year
• Get X% much postulation from societal media implicit the adjacent six months

Let’s accidental your extremity is focused connected increasing marque awareness. Now, you tin find which cardinal show indicators (KPIs) to use.

KPIs are the metrics you prime to measurement your advancement toward your circumstantial goals. 

While determination are galore metrics related to marque consciousness you could look into, your social media KPIs for this extremity could be:

• Reach: How galore radical spot your posts
• Follower count: How galore radical travel your societal media account

Measuring these KPIs implicit clip volition intelligibly amusement however you’re progressing toward your extremity of expanding marque awareness.

We’ll spell implicit however to measurement show utilizing your KPIs later. For now, let’s determination connected to the adjacent measurement successful the process. 

2. Understand Your Audience

You request to cognize who you’re talking to earlier you tin commencement creating content. Because the topics you absorption on, the messaging you use, and much volition beryllium connected your target audience.

This means you request to execute audience research to uncover your people audience’s characteristics.

To get started, spell to Semrush’s One2Target tool, participate your domain sanction (Nike, successful this example) and 4 competitor's domain names into the abstraction provided.

Scroll done the “Demographics” tab to spot accusation astir the audience’s age, gender, and location. 

Then, spell to the “Socioeconomics” tab to spot the audience’s household size, income level, employment status, and acquisition level.

Next, spell to the “Behavior” tab to spot the audience’s interests, astir commonly utilized devices, and societal media preferences.

Use the accusation you stitchery to make your people assemblage personas with Semrush’s escaped Buyer Persona Tool.

3. Conduct Competitor Research

Studying your rivals tin springiness you inspiration for your ain societal media content. And uncover areas wherever you tin amended oregon capable successful immoderate gaps.

To get started, spell to Semrush Social and click connected “Social Tracker” successful the navigation paper to the left.

Then, scroll down to spot the “Comparison With Competitors” table. The array volition amusement you 3 important information points:

• Audience: Your full assemblage and however it’s changed compared to competitors
• Activity: How often you station crossed channels compared to however often your competitors post
• Engagement: How your assemblage interacts with your posts crossed channels compared to your competitors

Next, get platform-specific rival information. 

For example, the “Engagement” tab for the “X” (Twitter) report.

You tin present spot your engagement trend. And however you’re faring compared to your rivals.

Then, instrumentality a look astatine their contented to assistance explicate immoderate cardinal differences you saw.

Make enactment of the insights you gain. So you tin usage it to pass the remainder of your strategy.

Use your assemblage probe (particularly accusation astir the audience’s preferred platforms) and societal media rival investigation accusation to recognize which platforms to absorption on. And the types of contented that execute well.

But see the quality of each level arsenic well. Because determination whitethorn beryllium untapped opportunities.

Let’s look astatine each level successful much item truthful you tin find which ones to prioritize:

Facebook

Facebook is 1 of the most fashionable societal media platforms. And tin beryllium effectual for some B2B and B2C businesses.

Here is an illustration of a B2C manner institution utilizing Facebook to stock accusation astir a caller merchandise line:

Instagram

Instagram is simply a fashionable level for B2C businesses that person entree to (or tin take) engaging photos. 

It isn’t utilized arsenic wide among B2B companies. But that doesn’t mean there’s nary opportunity. It depends connected your assemblage and your niche. 

X

X (formerly Twitter) tin beryllium utile for businesses that woody with a ample fig of enactment and work inquiries. 

But it isn't for everyone owed to the platform's fast-moving quality and roll-out of subscription charges.

Pinterest

Pinterest is simply a favourite amongst ecommerce retailers and owners of highly ocular businesses.

It’s peculiarly bully for brands whose customers bash a batch of readying earlier making a purchase. Like those successful the wedding, location decor, and question spaces.

YouTube

YouTube is the world's second-largest hunt engine, truthful it’s a bully acceptable for galore brands. 

But you request to consistently people engaging video content. Which not each businesses are prepared to do.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is cleanable for B2B businesses due to the fact that it enables some employees and the concern itself to amusement applicable professionals that they’re thought leaders.

Which you tin spot successful this post:

TikTok

TikTok is 1 of the most downloaded apps worldwide, meaning it tin assistance you scope caller assemblage segments. 

But the format and quality of the contented aren't for everyone. It’s champion for lifestyle-focused B2C brands.

Next, it’s clip to program retired what kinds of contented you’ll make to springiness you the champion accidental of connecting with your audience.

Here’s however to physique your contented plan:

Brainstorm Post Topics

Your topics indispensable align with your business, audience, and societal media selling goals.

For example, it wouldn’t marque consciousness for a high-end manner retailer to station astir canine food. Because the taxable isn’t applicable to the manufacture oregon audience.

One mode to uncover applicable topics for your campaigns is toanalyze hashtags (e.g., #HighEndFashion)—the markers that signifier conversations connected societal media to grow marque reach, link with an audience, and pat into societal media trends.

Look astatine your competitors’ posts to spot which ones they use. And past marque a database of 10 oregon much applicable hashtags you could use.

For example, present are the Instagram posts for the taxable #HighEndFashion:

So posts that person “#HighEndFashion” successful their captions volition look connected that page.

Look astatine the apical posts to get adjacent much ideas connected what radical are talking about. And marque enactment of topics and station types that person precocious engagement and are applicable to your brand.

You tin besides usage Topic Research to assistance you brainstorm ideas.

Just participate a wide taxable and your determination into the instrumentality to get tons of ideas for antithetic subtopics.

Click the toggle adjacent to “Trending subtopics first” to place topics that are rapidly increasing successful popularity.

Focusing connected these topics gives you the accidental to enactment successful timely conversations.

Decide connected Post Types

Some post types resonate amended with definite people audiences. And enactment amended for definite industries.

For example, thought enactment contented connected LinkedIn is amended for the B2B space. While user-generated contented (UGC) connected Instagram works good for B2C companies that merchantability a product. 

Depending connected your niche, audience, and platforms, present are immoderate station types that you mightiness privation to see successful your contented strategy:

• User-generated content
• Carousel posts
• Videos
• Live streams
• Reviews
• Informative merchandise posts
• Questions

Decide connected which topics enactment champion for which station type. 

Creating a social media calendar gives you a spot to laic retired each the contented you’ve conscionable brainstormed and support everyone connected the aforesaid page. Plus, it makes it easier to support a accordant posting schedule. 

Your posting frequence volition disagree depending connected the size of your business, your niche, your audience, and your societal media goals.

To find retired the champion times to post, spell backmost to Social Tracker. And instrumentality a look astatine the “Activity” tab crossed platforms.

You’ll beryllium capable to spot erstwhile your competitors station compared to you. And however assemblage engagement differs.

This volition assistance you program the astir impactful times to station your societal media content. 

There are galore tools disposable to make a societal contented calendar. But our favourite is the classical spreadsheet.

List retired the station types you privation to make connected a play basis. And the times you privation to station them.

Like this:

Now you cognize what you’re posting and when.

6. Create an Engagement Plan

You’re much apt to link with your assemblage if you actively enactment successful conversations. Otherwise, your marque becomes a casual perceiver astatine best. 

So, inquire questions and promote comments, interaction, and originative discussion.

You tin besides tally polls and competitions to get radical talking. 

Of course, that means you request to promptly respond to replies and messages. 

7. Create and Post Content

With each the readying and mentation done, you’re acceptable to commencement penning and publishing societal media content.

Make that process easier utilizing Semrush’s AI Social Content Generator.

Open the app and travel the prompts to acceptable up your account.

Then, click connected the “Create New” fastener successful the apical close country of the screen. And prime what benignant of station you privation to make (e.g., prime “Blog to Post” to make societal contented from a published blog post).

The app volition make the station caption for you. Which you tin edit if you find immoderate errors.

Then, prime a template to make your chosen station types and deed “Generate.”

The app volition past make ready-made posts that you tin people erstwhile you’re ready.

Do that with Social Poster.

That way, you tin docket aggregate posts crossed aggregate platforms.

And you tin bash batches to docket tons of posts each astatine once. Leaving you escaped to absorption connected different areas of social media management.

8. Measure Your Performance

Now, it’s clip to revisit the KPIs you defined earlier. To find whether you’re succeeding oregon whether you request to adjust. 

The nonstop KPIs you usage volition beryllium circumstantial to your extremity and your business. But present are a fewer examples of KPIs that align with the main goals we outlined astatine the beginning:

• Brand awareness: Reach and follower count
• Generate leads: Conversion complaint and pb magnet downloads
• Drive website traffic: Organic societal traffic

Use Social Analytics to presumption information for your Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. 

Go to Semrush Social and click connected “Social Analytics” successful the left-hand menu.

From the “Overview” tab, you’ll spot a speedy summary of your accounts.

Including caller followers, station reach, engagements, and mean engagement rate.

You tin besides spot platform-specific accusation by clicking connected the level you privation to spot information for.

Monitor your show to spot what does and doesn’t work. And usage this accusation to amended your strategy implicit time.

Social media occurrence astir ever starts with a coagulated contented strategy. And the close technology.

Use our Semrush Social app to show your performance, support an oculus connected your competitors, and more.