Social Media Marketing Checklist: Helpful Tips for Beginners

Let’s face it, success in Social Media and online marketing has become elusive for many business owners. The days of posting generic messages to your Facebook page are over. Even if you have really enjoyable content on your Social Media platforms, without advanced strategies and tactics, you won’t get far. It’s become so overwhelming that a Social Media Marketing Checklist is required just to keep things consistent and meaningful.

Routine + Consistency = Momentum

There’s a marketing adage called The Rule of 7. It states that a prospect needs to hear the advertiser’s message at least 7 times before they’ll take action to buy that product or service. Today, unless you have a clearly-defined marketing strategy that maps out how you’ll touch that prospect at least 7 times, you significantly reduce your odds of sales success.

Social Media affords you the opportunity to touch the customer often 7 times every day! You do that by sharing content, interacting with prospects and using specific marketing and advertising tactics to drive leads and sales.

Use the following Social Media Marketing Checklist to create a meaningful routine for yourself. Be consistent with your efforts and you’ll generate the momentum you’re looking for to get customers through the door.

Define Your Target Audience

When I ask most prospective clients who their target audience is, they reply, “Anyone who….” or “Everyone who has….”. While you may feel this is true for you, taking a more in-depth look at who you want to reach will improve your marketing results immensely.

Very often you’ll have more than one demographic and in most cases those demographics will overlap in their needs, concerns and questions. It’s helpful to define the basics first.

Basic Demographics

• Location
• Gender
• Age
• Income Level
• Occupation
• Education
• Ethnicity/Race
• Marital and Parental Status

These will get you identifying your ideal customers. Social Media has made it easier to target those who want to hear your message and bypass those who don’t. Now, drill deeper into your buyer personas.

Consumer Insights and Behavioral Demographics

• Interests
• Behavioral Characteristics
• Shopping Behavior
• Buying Frequency
• Cultural Factors (Societal environment and cultural trends)
• Social Factors (Network influencers, family, groups and social status)
• Personal Factors (Age and way of life)
• Psychological Factors (motivation, perception, beliefs and attitudes)

Develop a Content Strategy to Attract Your Target Audience

The content you create needs to have a strategy supporting it so you don’t go off willy-nilly sharing anything and everything (getting you nowhere fast and in some cases, harming your business). Your content should be relevant to your brand’s personality AND be relevant to your target customers.

Answer the following questions about your ideal customers. Let your answers guide you to create content that’s relevant to them:

• What’s important to them?
• What does a successful purchase look like to them?
• What are their questions and concerns?
• What might be holding them back from buying?
• How do they gather information on the road to purchase?
• How to they come to a decision?

Blog

• Write 2-3 blog posts each week
• Share each post more than once on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn
• Subscribe to 2 new blog feeds weekly
• Share 3 blog posts from your feeds daily

Facebook

• Publish 3 updates daily
• Always refer to content strategy before you hit “send”
• Syndicate your blog posts regularly (with links back to your website)
• Monitor for comments; reply as needed
• Review Insights and Ads Manager daily

Facebook Ads

• Promote your page (Grow Likes) with “Promote Your Page” ads
• Increase engagement and promote content using “Boost Your Posts” ads
• Drive leads and sales with “Send People to Your Website” and “Increase Conversions” ads
• Start with $5 per day budget if you’re a newbie

Twitter

• Publish 5-6 tweets daily, including your blog posts
• Retweet 3-5 relevant tweets daily
• Follow 15 relevant users or brands daily
• Use Lists to categorize SMEs (Subject matter experts)
• Use #hashtags to follow or lead conversations
• Track mentions and keywords

Google+

• Publish 3 updates daily, including your blog posts
• Make 3 relevant comments on content daily
• “+1” 5 pieces of content weekly
• Use Circles to create relevant connections
• Add 10 people to circles weekly
• Host a Google Hangout monthly

LinkedIn:

• Publish 5-6 updates daily
• Like or comment on 3 pieces of content daily
• Connect with 5 new people weekly
• Follow 5 relevant companies weekly
• Leverage Advanced Search daily to connect with people you want to know (prospects)
• Scan industry groups 2-3 times weekly; participate if appropriate

YouTube:

• Post a new video weekly
• Share 3 videos in other Social channels weekly
• Subscribe to 1 industry-related channel weekly
• Always focus on your customers’ interests and sprinkle in some fun

Instagram

• Post 1-2 images daily
• Use #hashtags to connect and converse daily
• Show another side of your business: promote your personality not your products

Pinterest

• Follow 5 new inspiring boards daily
• Comment on 3-5 Pins daily
• Share your blog posts 3 times weekly (make sure they link back to your website)
• Re-Pin 3 pins daily
• Add boards your target customers would be interested in weekly

This Social Media Marketing Checklist covers a lot. Stay focused and delve into one platform at a time to get traction. Give your marketing (and your business) the chance it deserves.