The foundation of any solid digital marketing strategy is to have an engaging Social Media Account – below are six points to consider when creating a social media account.

Consider your Audience

Whether you are a lone blogger or a fully established business, the first thing you have to do before anything is to work out who your audience is. You can have the best digital marketing strategy in the world, but if it is aimed towards the wrong audience, it is meaningless.

Carry out research into the demographic that you will be targeting and compile data on their interests and what matters most to them. When you know this, you will find it easier to connect with your audience (more on this later) without force-feeding your links down their throat (this is bad).

Use Hashtags

Part of social media, especially Twitter, is using hashtags that allow users to find content that appeals most to them. For example, if you are posting a link to a blog that discusses a certain sports team, you may include their name or abbreviation in a hashtag – Liverpool Football Club would be #LFC.

Using hashtags helps your social media account to be seen and gain as many impressions as possible, which is especially important when you are looking to grow your followers.

Start a Discussion

Back to our point from earlier in regards to connecting with your audience. Do not just simply use your social media account as a glorified RSS feed because the possibilities are so much more.

Social media is a separate channel altogether and should be treated with the respect that it deserves. Offer your audience exclusive content that has not been used on any of your other channels, and make sure that it is good.

Having done your research on your target audience, you will know all about the issues that matter most to them. Post on these issues with an open question, inviting a discussion. You may find it possible create content offering a fresh perspective that links your blog or businesses to the discussion.

Use Graphics

Your social media account should be exciting to look at. By this, we mean really consider your social graphic design instead of settling on default settings. Images and videos are far more appealing to the audience than a text-based post, and anyone who views your post is more likely to retain the information as a result.

Whether you use a banner maker or include funny GIFs to accompany your posts, your social media account will be all the better for it. You don’t necessarily have to use images on every last post, but most definitely include a relevant graphic on anything including a link back to your website or blog post.

Form a Social Media Calendar

Just as you would form a schedule for anything else, you should also have a calendar for your social media feed. Schedule posts to go out at peak times for your audience, rather than sitting and waiting by ready to click the send button.

Mark events and holidays in a calendar and build posts around them. This should coincide with your content schedule to help maximise your exposure, and engage with your audience.

Don’t be Afraid to Fail

Lastly, do not be afraid to fail. Be willing to take risks and try new things that no one else has done before – you will either be left with a lesson learnt or a unique idea that you can build on.

As long as you keep away from controversial subjects and do not offend anyone, pretty much anything and everything goes. You should not stick rigidly to a plan; view any strategy more of a guideline than a rulebook, as social media – just like technology in general – is forever changing.

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