Social Media Marketing Framework

Many small businesses make the mistake of simply creating a business account on every free social media marketing platform and haphazardly posting as they would on their personal accounts.

This is a huge mistake, but one that can be easily corrected.

Follow the tips below to begin thinking through the framework you will need to create in order to portray a cohesive brand image across multiple platforms that accurately represent your business.  

1. Define clear goals, objectives and metrics for your social media marketing plan that tie into your overall business objectives. For example:

GoalBusiness ObjectiveMetrics
AwarenessExpand reach and grow brandFollowers and Shares
EngagementTurn clients into advocatesComments, Likes, Mentions
ConversionsDrive new business leadsWebsite clicks, Email Submissions
Client RetentionIncrease client retentionTestimonials and client sentiment


2. Identify your target audience and create customer personas to better understand their preferences including which social media platforms they use.

3. Conduct a social media audit of your current platforms to understand what is working and what is not.

4. Identify which platforms make sense to promote your business to your defined target audience and understand the strengths of each platform.

5. Create a social media calendar

6. Establish a social media budget.

7. Create a social media style guide to include brand personality, voice, tone, colors, images, etc.

8. Track and evaluate your metrics and make adjustments to your plan as needed.

My advice to small business owners is to take the time to carefully craft a social media marketing strategy that is flexible enough to allow for changes and updates to the plan. Doing so will help you meet your overall business objectives. Click on the following link for a list of additional resources that will help you create a robust social media marketing strategy:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2018/02/24/top-25-social-media-tools-for-marketers/#700553987e33