HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULE
As you develop your business plan, one aspect you need to think about is how you plan to engage with customers, fans, and partners. Having a presence on social media is an excellent way to become a trusted advisor, share articles, and spread information about events and promotions for your business. Social media engages relevant customers and makes them more interested in your products/services. The most beneficial aspect of using social media is that it reaches customers where they’re already spending their time – online.
As much as social media posts are great for connecting and engaging with customers on a more personal level, they do come with their difficulties. Generating post content can take up quite a bit of time – how are you going to fit social media posts into your already busy schedule? After all, you have a business to run. You can’t be tweeting and posting all day!
DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN
There is such a wide spectrum of social media platforms, how do you know which ones will work best for your business? The key to selecting the right platforms is to know the core audiences of its users and how the content is displayed. There is no point in having an account on a social media site if your target market isn’t active on it. The most popular social media sites used by businesses are Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Post timing and frequency is something that businesses sometimes struggle with. How do you know how often to schedule your social media posts? It’s important to have a social media schedule that posts frequently enough to be seen by your target market but not so often to become an annoyance. Another thing to keep in mind is that your customer base uses social media at different times of the day. You want to be posting your content when they’re most likely to read it. Their social media schedule doesn’t always align with typical business hours.
SO HOW CAN YOU SCHEDULE MULTIPLE POSTS ONTO MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AT MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TIMES?
SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULE APPLICATIONS
There are many tools and applications available for you to use to create your social media schedule. These applications allow you to pre-post your content for scheduled times on specified platforms. Using one gives social media managers the ability to plan posts in advance, schedule them during times they aren’t working, and plan campaigns sometimes months in advance. There’s a wide variety of these applications ranging from free to expensive, one platform scheduling to 5+ platform scheduling. Here are some of the most popular social media schedulers that you can use:
SPROUT SOCIAL
- Pro Account packages start at $39/month
- Provides analytics tools
- Connects to the 4 top social media networks
- Integrated CRM system
HOOTSUITE
- Pro Account = $8.99/month
- Connects with 35 social media networks
- Can manage up to 100 accounts
- Includes analytics tools
- Unlimited amount of scheduled posts
SENDIBLE
- Pro Accounts start at $39.99/month
- Connects with 56 social networks
- Includes analytics tools
- Email and SMS integration options
Also remember that in the end, engaging customers is about drawing their interest and starting real conversations. Social media is just one avenue to accomplish that goal, but don’t let automation and boring content counteract the buzz you’re trying to create.