How to set up your social networking for 2021

2021 has seriously been a game-changer for social media. Usage across every age group on virtually all of the social channels has increased. People are relying on social media more for news, updates from their local businesses, to check in on friends and family and for lockdown entertainment.

You need to ensure the content marketing strategy you put together is efficacious and has substance so that you can take advantage of the increased usage and engage using the right audience in a purposeful manner. Listed here are the steps you need to go through to set your social media up for success in 2021.

Decide on your social media strategy, purpose and goals

Get absolutely clear on what the purpose of social media is within this context. Is it to generate sales? Increase awareness? Build more industry relationships? Begin by writing three to six bullet points with a few goal headings like social media goals or stakeholder/customer group. This should help you create your strategy and give you something to turn back to when you get busy throughout the year.

Plan in blocks

Planning your social media in blocks ensures you remain proactive and also in control of your workload. Depending on the frequency of your posting across social media, one month is normally a great cadence for the social media blocks, and scheduling a meeting to plan is a great way to ensure it gets done.

Brainstorm topics first

When planning your social networking out for each block of your time, start by brainstorming topic first before getting into the format or the channel. Use your content themes recorded inside your strategy to come up with different topics for that period. Sometimes it helps to brainstorm like a group and be as broad as possible.

Look at those topics via a strategy lens

Once you have your topic ideas listed, take a look at each of them through
a strategy lens. For every idea ask yourself: Does this topic allow us to
achieve our goals? Does this topic add value to
the lives of our key customer group? Does this topic
talk to the main messaging of our business? Does this topic
represent our values like a business?

Discuss format and channel

Now you are able to decide on the specific format and channel it to be
posted at the last stage (rather than the first stage) means that you are able to
objectively decide on a topic that can help with your strategy, and then focus on
format and channel inside a more strategic way.

Actioning and recording

To make the most out of your social media in 2021 planning you should
make sure that all this information gets stored somewhere easily accessible and
organised. There are lots of content marketing planning tools online but even
if you just start with a piece of paper along with a calendar you are worlds in front of
the rest.

Stay fluid

Although these steps might seem quite rigid, it is important to
balance this with interactive and live actions on social platforms. It is extremely
obvious which social media channels are overly scheduled in advance, and this
can actually have the opposite effect of not posting anything at all.

Keep an eye on your performance. You should keep learning and
pivoting your strategy every month or time period you sit down to plan. Only by
doing this can you make sure you are working towards your purpose.