John Hansel
- Feb 13
- 5 min read

7 Key Steps to Developing a Powerful Social Media Strategy

7 Key Steps To Developing A Social Media Strategy Thumbnail Image, hands suing phone and laptop for strategy

Are you ready to take your online presence to the next level? Whether you're a corporation, small business owner, or just someone looking to boost their personal brand, having a solid social media strategy is key to success in the digital world. According to a quick Google search, people spend approximately 2 hours and 24 minutes every single day on social media, so it's safe to say that it's a large part of our lives. If you want to capture the attention of those social media users, then you need a powerful social media strategy for your business. But don't worry, crafting the perfect strategy doesn't have to be daunting. With a little bit of know-how and some creativity, you'll be well on your way to engaging your audience and achieving your goals. Here are the 7 main steps that you need to use to achieve success with your social media channels:

1. Define Your Social Media Strategy Goals

Every successful social media strategy starts with a clear set of goals. Ask yourself, what do you hope to achieve through your social media efforts? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales? A brand awareness play might be to post weekly about your company values, and how you wish to be perceived as people scroll onto your posts. Or a goal to boost sales might be to produce a 30-second video showing how your product works with a "Shop Now" link attached. This is step one to figuring out what direction you need to take, so once you have your goals in mind, you can tailor your strategy to achieve them effectively.

2. Know Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating content that resonates with them. Take some time to research your audience demographics, interests, and preferences. What platforms do they frequent? What type of content do they engage with the most? What types of other brands and followers do they have in common?

For example, if you are trying to target your baby product to new mothers, make sure your tone, wording, imagery, and overall style are fine-tuned perfectly for that type of persona (bright, airy, clean, safe). And the same type of thinking goes for if you are a bolt manufacturer trying to build a social media following. You can target a technical engineering-based audience, who will likely be potential buyers, and create an image around how helpful your production of bolts is to the world (detailed, factual, educational, process-focused). Take a hard look at who your audience will be, and by knowing them inside and out, you can tailor your content to better meet their needs and interests.

Person writing out the word "audience" on a whiteboard

3. Choose the Right Platforms

With so many social media platforms out there, it's important to focus your efforts on the ones that will yield the best results for your business or personal brand. Consider factors such as your target audience demographics, the type of content you plan to create, and your marketing objectives. Whether it's Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, or Snapchat, each platform has its own unique strengths and audience demographics.

If you have more formal, business-related goals and content, or are B2B (business-to-business), then LinkedIn and YouTube may be your best bets for a social presence. LinkedIn has a professional audience that is more career-focused, and YouTube can host long-form content that may be geared better toward your style of product/service.

On the other hand, if you are a B2C (business-to-consumer) company, then platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and Snapchat would benefit you more. These sites make use of being able to easily purchase products, or link to online storefronts, as well as utilize the impact that social influencers can create for your products. They are also just known to generally be a little more "casual" and "fun" in their content and engagement methods.

And since X (Twitter) is in a weird spot right now, that platform can be utilized more for company announcements, and general info that can link to one of the other platforms. Overall, thinking about the right platform can help guide the rest of the steps, and it's a good idea to try to take advantage of all the services available.

4. Create Compelling Content

Have you ever heard the saying "Content is king"? In the world of social media, you and your business need to stand out from the crowd, and to do that, you need to create content that is not only visually appealing but also informative, entertaining, and relevant to your audience. Experiment with different formats such as images, videos, GIFs, stories, and memes to keep your feed fresh and engaging.

There are many ways to create content. You can simply use your phone to shoot images and record videos, or you can go a more involved route and hire an in-house multimedia team, or freelancers, to use professional gear to increase your overall production value. It all goes back to your brand image. Will it make sense to use iPhone-quality visuals, or will you need higher-end imagery to reach your target audience?

And don't forget to use captions, hashtags, and emojis to increase visibility and reach.

Hands working on a laptop and writing down notes for social media strategy

5. Be Consistent

Consistency is key when it comes to building a loyal following on social media. You want to always be in front of your potential buyers. The more they see your product and brand, the more likely they are to convert on whatever you are selling. Create a content calendar with a variety of posts, and stick to a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged and coming back for more. Whether you post daily, weekly, or bi-weekly, consistency will help you stay top-of-mind with your audience and maintain a cohesive brand identity.

6. Engage with Your Audience

Social media is all about building relationships and strengthening connections. Take the time to respond to comments, messages, and mentions from your followers. This is where you can hone in on your brand's voice, like being helpful, humorous, insightful, or just to show that you are active and caring about your social channels. If appropriate, you can even ask questions, run polls, and encourage user-generated content to promote engagement and create a sense of community around your brand. The more you interact with your audience, the more loyal and dedicated they will become.

7. Analyze and Adapt

Finally, don't forget to track your progress and analyze the performance of your social media efforts. Most social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools that provide valuable insights into your audience demographics, engagement metrics, and content performance. You can check to see which types of posts are getting more views, clicks, and sales. You can even do A/B testing by switching up your tone and style to see which post works better.

Schedule a reminder to look back on your posts after they have been active for a month, and gather as much information as possible. Then, use this data to identify what's working well and what areas need improvement, and adjust your strategy accordingly to maximize your results.

close up of phone with analytics and stats focused on post engagement

Conclusion

Creating a solid social media strategy doesn't have to be complicated. By defining your goals, knowing your audience, choosing the right platforms, creating compelling content, being consistent, engaging with your audience, and analyzing your results, you'll be well on your way to social media success. So, go ahead and unleash your creativity, connect with your audience, and watch your online presence soar!