Developing a Sustainable Social Media Strategy

Digital trends come and go in this fast-paced, tech-savvy society.

As policies and algorithms change, it can feel next to impossible to keep up with which social media forms are popular, and how to stay afloat on each one. 

As a business, trying to develop a social media strategy that promotes growth and doesn’t have to be completely overhauled every quarter can seem like a daunting task. However, there are ways to establish a sustainable social media strategy – one that promotes long-term growth and strong engagement. 

There is so much value in having a solid social media strategy. It allows your business to form a community that will bring your audience closer to your brand while attracting new potential customers. So, it’s worth it to put the time and effort into a strategy that is built to last.  

Let’s cover a few tips you can use to ensure your social media strategy remains relevant, encourages interaction, and doesn’t give in to fleeting trends. 

Creating Valuable Content

Anyone in marketing will tell you “content is king,” and that saying rings true for social media posts, too. Creating and sharing valuable content is one of the best ways to help with long-term growth. If you’re not sure where to get started with content, let some of the following ideas inspire you:

• Positive news

• Personal content like behind-the-scenes photos

• Videos

• Social causes

• Notable statistics

Remember, the idea is to create content that your audience will find helpful and engaging. Instagram is a great platform for increasing engagement and the creation of quality content because it’s a visually-based platform. However, quality content comes in all shapes and sizes and doesn’t necessarily need to include images.

Remember, you don’t want to just focus on promotional content or “advertising” your business. Instead, center your entire social media persona around valuable, personal content that will make your audience feel like they’re having a conversation with a friend, rather than being talked “at” by a business. 

Building a Community

The better your content, the easier it will be to build a community both on and off your social media pages. 

If you’re a small business, for example, chances are you want to connect with your community in person as often as possible. Doing so is actually a fantastic way to attract more people to your digital presence. There are plenty of ways to get involved in your local community as a business, including:

• Participating in or hosting charity events

• Working with other businesses

• Participating in local events

• Holding contests

• Sponsoring local events or teams

The more things you participate in, the more you can share on your social media platforms. As your target audience sees you out in the community, connecting with people, they’ll be more willing to trust you. You’ll increase your brand presence, become well-known throughout your community and beyond, and earn more “likes” and follows. Any good marketer knows that word-of-mouth advertising is worth its weight in gold. Building a community in person can trigger one online, and your followers won’t hesitate to share your brand with friends and family members if you’re consistently making them feel like an important part of the community. 

Listening to Feedback

It’s not the easiest thing in the world to hear what people might like to change about your brand. However, listening to and implementing honest feedback from your target audience is one of the best ways to grow, succeed, and not fall victim to trends that won’t last. 

That starts with finding ways to effectively collect feedback. One of the easiest options is to post a link to a survey on all of your platforms. Simply asking your followers for feedback is a great way to let them know their opinions are important, and you want to cater to their needs and wants. 

You can also check out what people are saying about your business and brand by utilizing social monitoring. It can take some time and energy to scroll through mentions of your business, but if you use a specific hashtag and encourage people to use it when leaving feedback, you can search for that tag instead, and it will streamline the process. 

Feedback gives you the opportunity to make valuable changes to your social media platforms and your entire business. More importantly, it helps you stay relevant with your followers, so you’re offering them content and service they want, rather than something “gimmicky” they’ll see through right away. 

Developing a sustainable social media strategy requires your digital presence to be as “human” as possible. The last thing you want is for your followers to feel like you’re nothing more than an “advertising machine,” cranking out promotional posts without considering the importance of engagement. 

So, don’t just keep these ideas in mind – put them into practice! You can change your entire social media strategy into something more, well… social, with just a few simple tweaks. When you’re willing to do that, it’s likely your platforms and your brand will have more longevity and see more success.