Social Media

How to Build a Social Media Strategy in 2024

Welcome to the Freelance Friday podcast! Today, I want to talk about how to build a social media strategy in 2024, because some things have definitely changed. In fact, that’s kind of the point—they change every single year. Different platforms pop up, different platforms gain popularity, and some go out of business or out of style. It’s important that we update our social media strategies at least every year, whether it’s for a client or for your own small business.

Setting Your Social Media Goals

The first thing you want to keep in mind when putting together a social media strategy is: what is our goal with social media? This should be updated year over year. A new business might have the primary goal of just gaining a following and building awareness because they’re new in the market. They might not be focused at this point on a huge amount of conversions. They just want people to know who they are.

 
In those cases, you’re going to be looking at awareness-focused metrics like reach—how many people actually saw your post—and impressions—how many times your posts were seen. This will also drive your content strategy. If you’re focused on awareness, you’ll look for platforms and content types with super viral potential.

Mid-Funnel Goals

If you are more mid-funnel, the top of the funnel is very awareness-focused. The middle of the funnel is more about engagement—getting those people who have followed you or seen your content to like you, trust you, and move to the bottom of the funnel to the point of purchase. In this stage, you might focus on platforms like YouTube or podcasts, which allow you to build trust before they go ahead and buy.

Your goals can change over time. Your client’s goals can change over time. Year one, you might focus on awareness; year two, more on engagement; year three, on conversion. The tactics you recommend will be different depending on where they are at. Keeping KPIs (key performance indicators) in mind is crucial. If you report the wrong metrics to your client, it can be a struggle to retain them.

Understanding Your Audience

Next, think about who you’re talking to. You should have this in mind when setting your goals. Paint a detailed picture of your target audience. Most clients or businesses won’t be mad at anybody seeing their posts, but there are more likely customers. Knowing your target audience drives much of the strategy. Different demographics require different platforms and styles.

If your client doesn’t know who they want to reach, it can be a pink or orange flag. Any business owner who is serious about their business will be able to explain this to you. Exercises like creating buyer personas can help them figure it out. This should be a conversation before you sign a contract with a client.

Choosing Platforms

Once you know who you’re talking to and what you want to do, the next step is deciding which platforms to focus on. There are many platforms out there, and it can be challenging to decide. My recommendation is to choose at least one longer-form or SEO-friendly platform like YouTube, Pinterest, or a podcast or blog. Then, choose one shorter-form, more trendy platform like TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

For example, I focus on YouTube and repurpose content to other platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and LinkedIn. Don’t overwhelm yourself, especially if you’re a one-person team. Look at the data to help decide. Metricool’s 2023 social media networks study analyzed over 20 million social media posts, providing valuable insights and trend predictions for 2024. You can get answers to questions like how social media has evolved since 2023, top-performing content formats, and which platforms and strategies work best for brands and businesses.

Using Analytics

Look at your own data or your client’s data. Tools like Metricool can provide reports, but also look at Google Analytics to see which social media platforms are referring the most traffic to the website. For example, YouTube refers almost all my traffic, while Instagram does almost nothing for me. This helps decide where to invest time and effort.

Some key insights from Metricool’s study include the importance of reels for growth on Instagram and Facebook, TikTok’s increasing video length, and LinkedIn’s significant increase in shares. These insights can help shape your strategy for the coming year.

Crafting Your Messaging

After deciding on platforms, determine what you’re going to say. Start with your overall promise, brand promise, offer, and unique value proposition. Create content pillars—two to three buckets or categories of content. For an e-commerce company, this might include showcasing social proof through testimonials or user-generated content, and another pillar for promotions or events.

If your goal is gaining followers and building awareness, lean heavily on value and educational content. This top-of-the-funnel content will help gain a following, and you can provide more in-depth content in paid materials or future content.

Content Creation

After planning your strategy, it’s time to create content. Content creation might not technically be a social media manager’s job, but it’s important to know enough to be dangerous. Learn to use tools like Canva, browse stock image sites, or take basic photos. Communicate with other teams if needed to get the content you require.

This is where your strategy comes to life. Without action, it’s just a piece of paper. The content creation part is fun and crucial for bringing your strategy to fruition.

Conclusion

Building a social media strategy in 2024 involves setting clear goals, understanding your audience, choosing the right platforms, crafting your messaging, and creating engaging content. By following these steps, you can ensure that your social media efforts are effective and aligned with your business objectives.

If you want to check out Metricool’s study with all their findings from 2023, you can click the link down in the show notes. I will also leave a link to the waitlist for the Social Media Management Accelerator, which will be back early in 2024. I’m excited to teach this course again and help you through some of these strategies.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. If you’re on YouTube, please subscribe to the podcast channel. I will talk to you in my next episode. Bye.