Your Social Strategy Is Like A Map To Creating Content That Gets Your Business Where It Needs To Go.
If you’ve been posting on social but aren’t seeing the results (ie. engagement, follows, mailing list sign-ups, sales, etc…) it might be time to re-think your Instagram strategy.
You wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map, right? To avoid getting lost, feeling stressed and wasting a bunch of time you’d plan a route to get you where you need to go. If you’re really smart, you’d pack snacks, too. But that’s a different conversation!
Yes, social media is supposed to be fun (Office GIFS, anyone?). But the real magic happens when it’s fun and strategic. To move the needle in your business you need to have a plan in place. When you get strategic, it’s easier to create content that serves your clients’ needs and gets you closer to your goals. But to do that, you need to know who you’re creating content for, what you’ve got to offer them and what you want your social content to achieve for you.
Long story short, you need to get back to basics.
Lucky for you, social media strategy is one of my love languages. So, buckle up! Let’s go.
Strategy 101: Get Back To Basics With The 5 Ws.
When you’re making a plan, you have to start by asking questions. Think back to elementary school and those 5Ws: Who, What, Where, When, Why. (I meant it when I said we’re getting back to basics! 😉)
To plan a fun, stress-free road trip, there are a few basic things you’d need to know. For example, you might ask yourself: “Where are we going?”, “Who’s coming?” (More importantly, who’s bringing the snacks?) and, “What do we need to bring?”
To plan an Instagram strategy, you’ll still need your 5 Ws, but the questions you’ll be asking are a little more specific. The answer to some of the questions (like WHERE) are taken care of for you. Others (like WHEN) are next-level strategy questions that you can tackle later once you start tracking your analytics. Same deal with HOW. Instagram gives you a whole lot of options when it comes to how you want to share your content. Will it be a post, a Reel or a story? There are pros and cons to each type of post…but we’ll talk a little more about that later.
So, that leaves us with WHY, WHO and WHAT. (These are the really important ones for creating content that communicates well with your audience!) Here are some questions you can ask yourself to get clear on your Instagram strategy fundamentals:
WHY do you do what you do?
Your WHY is as unique as you are! Think about why you started the work you do and how it makes you feel when your services or products help people. Take your time—and take notes!
WHO is your content for?
Knowing your target audience is super important for every part of your marketing strategy and worth spending some time digging into. Hot tip 🔥 Build a client avatar. Imagine that perfect client or customer who’s going to benefit from what you do and who thinks your business is the best thing since Taylor Swift. Be specific about where they live, what they like, what’s important to them and anything else you can think of. The more you know about your target audience, the easier it will be to write content that connects with them.
WHAT value can you provide?
Value is about more than the benefits of the service or product you’re offering. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great place to start but think BIGGER!) When you think about the value you can share with your audience, think about the vibe you’re putting out, the knowledge and expertise you can share and your unique perspective.
WHAT type of content will you post?
Not every post needs to sell, sell, sell! In fact, they shouldn’t. Variety is the spice of life, friend. Keeping your social content varied makes it more likely to find its way to the right people. Plus, it’s much more fun to create different types of content and give real value to your audience. Some examples of different types of content for your social strategy include education, inspiration, humour, connection and marketing (sales). Decide which ones make sense for your brand and mix it up!
HOW will you share these strategic content ideas?
Remember when I said we’d talk a little more about that sneaky HOW? Well, here it is. Another thing to consider when you’re getting strategic is the different types of posts you can create for Instagram. You have a lot of options! Posts, Stories, Carousels, Reels, Videos, Lives, Guides…. Before you get overwhelmed, take a deep breath. You don’t have to make ALL of these types of posts. I recommend starting with 2-4 and then, as you get more comfortable and confident, trying something new. Focus on the types of posts that you enjoy making and that your audience engages with the most. Then, put the rest on the back burner for later.
Got The Basics? You’re Ready To Hit The Road And Create Strategic Content.
Once you’ve answered the basic WHO, WHAT, WHY questions you’ve got the building blocks for a solid Instagram strategy. Make sure you record your answers in an easy-to-access place like Google Drive. Create a document or a spreadsheet where you can organize your thoughts and remember, even the best planned road trip hits the occasional detour! Don’t stress. Just get out the map or GPS and find a new way forward. Your Instagram strategy will change as your business goals change. So don’t be afraid to go back in and switch things up periodically.
Your next step will be to use all these strategic details to brainstorm an endless stream of content ideas you can use to inspire social posts that connect your business with the right people.
A Well-Planned Social Strategy Will Help You Get Where You Need To Go.
Getting back to basics is a great way to check in with yourself and your business goals before jumping into content creation. When you have a thoughtful Instagram strategy mapped out, planning and creating posts will be so much easier. And, just like a well-planned road trip, you’ll get where you need to go faster and with less stress.
With the right strategy, system and tools you can create content that grows your business and makes your followers happy! So, if you’re ready to get strategic, you can use this blog post as a starting point. Or, if you could use a little more help putting your social strategy together and creating an effective content creation workflow, you’ll find everything you need in The Small Biz Content System —including The Content Strategy Guide.
