How to Build a Social Media Strategy: A Beginner’s Guide That Actually Works
Whether you’re a business owner, startup founder, or marketing assistant trying to “just post something,”. Diving into social media without a strategy is like setting sail without a compass; you might float, but you won’t go far.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through a simple, actionable social media strategy anyone can follow, even my 80-year-old grandad, who’s still figuring out WhatsApp!
Set Clear Goals
This will always be the foundation you fall back on. Ask yourself and the team, ‘What do we want social media to do for this business?’ As an agency, every client is different and wants a different outcome. We host regular meetings with our clients to discuss their goals.
Examples:
- Gain 1000 new followers in 6 months
- Drive more traffic to the website
- Engage with more industry leaders
Every piece of content or part of your strategy should contribute towards these goals.
Define Your Audience
If you don’t know who you are talking to, your content won’t be received. Sounds simple, but it is a common mistake made by many.
Try and determine who your audience is (age, location, job, industry) and where they will most likely spend their time online, as a 60-year-old male most likely won’t be found in the depths of Instagram reels…
Choose the Right Platforms
Following that, you don’t need to be everywhere; you just need to be where your audience is. Social media is so saturated that making sure you are on the right platforms for your audience demographic is key to hitting your goals. Here’s a quick run-down to get you up to speed:
- Instagram – Visual storytelling is great for brand building
- Facebook – Strong amongst local businesses and community groups
- LinkedIn – Ideal for B2B, thought leadership and hiring
- TikTok – Perfect for creative and fast-growing vibes with a younger audience
- X/Twitter – Great for news updates, trends and customer service
Once you know where your audience is, it’s time to decide what to say and how to say it consistently.
Build Your Content Concepts
These concepts will become the foundations of your regular posts. They help keep your strategy focused and highlight the company’s key factors and services. This will also help you stay consistent and have something to fall back on when you need something to post. TLH usually splits them up based on the following four segments; quite easily, you have a month’s worth of content!
- Educational – Top tips, how-tos, industry news
- Promotional – New products, offers, case studies
- Behind the Scenes – Team pictures, office culture, events
- Testimonials or user-generated content
Track and Adjust
Every platform offers built-in analytics. At TLH, we recommend reviewing your performance monthly: what worked, what didn’t, and what times performed best. This can help you start to tweak your content to better suit what your audience is engaging with and receiving well.
Engage With Your Audience
Where most people fail is that they get the content out, and they think that is where the journey ends. Whereas posting is simply just half the job, making sure you do the following can elevate you as industry experts and humanise your brand.
- Replying to comments and DM’s
- Asking questions in your captions
- Getting involved in relevant conversations
- Reposting relevant industry content
Remember: your strategy doesn’t need to go viral for it to be successful. A clear plan, relevant content, and real engagement will consistently outperform those one-hit wonders.
Need help creating your brand’s social strategy? Let’s talk
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