5 Keys to a Winning Social Media Strategy in 2021

Your 2021 Social Media Strategy MUST Include...

What are the 5 key elements of social media success?

First, you need to understand that social media excellence in the business world can rarely be boiled down to a single variable. In most cases, success is tied to several factors.

Here are the most common elements shared by many of today's top social media performers:

1.  An Organized Social Media Calendar 

The path to a well-organized social media plan begins with scheduling. By keeping a calendar, you can remain on track with your social media activity.

Here are some specific benefits of maintaining an organized social media calendar:

• Reduce wasted time and stress
• Prevent missed deadlines and online events
• Plan in advance for holidays and vacations
• Keep visitors yearning for more of your content

Creating a calendar is a fairly easy task that only requires a couple of hours each month. You can create your own calendar or choose from a variety of templates designed by Microsoft and other providers.

You may find yourself falling behind on maintaining your calendar. If so, don't be afraid to ask for help from a social media management firm such as DFY Unlimited™.

2. Audit Regularly

The term "social media audit" can sound intimidating - especially if you've never managed social media activity for a business. In reality, an audit is merely another word for a careful review of your social media presence. 

The purpose of an audit is to check your social media profiles for consistency, professionalism, and performance.

In particular, you should check the following to make sure you are presenting a professional image:

• Your social media profile for each site
• The messaging and graphics
• Amount of engagement with followers
• Posts, including their frequency and quality

While there is no rule regarding audit frequency, most companies audit their social media accounts at least once per year. If you are still not quite comfortable with the concept of an audit, you can always reach out to a social media specialist to handle this task for you.

3. High-Quality Original Content 

Many people underestimate the critical role that original content plays in driving traffic to your business.

For content to be well-received by your target audience, you need to make sure the following three criteria are met:

• Your content is relevant 
• The content provides tremendous value
• Your content is original

Additionally, it's a good idea to vary your social media content to satisfy your target audience. Let's consider a business that caters to busy young adults who are sports fans. 

An effective social media content plan may include short action-packed video clips and special promotions that are tied to upcoming sporting events.

4. Understanding  Social Media Analytics

You can have the most organized social media calendars and campaigns in the world. Consequently, if you don't track your results, you are left to guess which activity is behind that surge in traffic you are seeing.

Most importantly, you should never base marketing decisions on guesses. You need to know how to gather and read your social media analytics. 

Here are some key metrics to track on each of your social media sites:

• Total number of followers
• Number of new followers
• Total number of comments per post
• Number of likes per post
• Number of shares per post

A word of caution: You might be tempted to try to dive into this task yourself to try to save money. But tracking and monitoring social media activity across multiple sites requires time, experience, and attention to detail. 

Unless you have plenty of extra time on your hands, it's best to leave analytics in the hands of a skilled expert.

5. A Carefully Planned Social Media Strategy

Social media success does not occur in a vacuum. It is built over time and rarely occurs without a great social media strategy in place. Your social media strategy should reflect your goals, your brand, and the needs of your target audience.

For best results, your strategy should include the four elements outlined above along with a plan for ensuring that they each receive proper focus.

Sometimes mapping out a sound social media strategy can be a bit overwhelming. And because it serves as a framework for your social media activity, you cannot afford to cut any corners when developing your strategy.

Finally, it's important to revisit your strategy at least once every year. The odds are high that you may want to make some adjustments based on your audits and analytics. 

So, what is the single best path to a winning 2021social media strategy?