Do you feel as though you’re going round and round in circles with your social media while getting nowhere fast? Do you look at your competitor’s feeds and wonder how they manage to do it all?
Then it’s time to get strategic!
Creating a social media strategy will save you both time and energy (and who doesn’t want that?) plus help you connect with your ideal customers and nurture them into your world.
My three-step guide will get you started.
Step one: Know your audience
This may sound obvious, but a huge percentage of businesses never get clear on who their target customer is.This means their messaging is always slightly off-kilter and doesn’t quite land the way it should.
So, the first thing you need to do is create a customer persona. This is a fictional character who represents your dream customer or client. Jot down their age, financial status, where they buy their food and clothes. Think about where they hang out online, what motivates them in life and what holds them back.
Most importantly think about the pain points that your campsite or glampsite solves for them, as well as the barriers that stand between them coming to you for help. Once you’ve identified all these issues you can start to craft content that speaks directly to them and lets them know you understand. If you have more than one ideal client, that’s fine, but try to find the characteristics that bond them – what do they have in common?
Step two: Decide what to post
One of the biggest challenges the small businesses I work with face is knowing what to post on social media. Sound familiar? But there’s a simple trick you can use to overcome this.The fancy term for this hack is ‘content pillars’. But, put simply, it just means deciding on a variety of topics your ideal customer will be interested in! Once you have your pillars you can start to map out the kind of content that will fall into each one.
So, for example, a campsite or glampsite might have the following pillars
The local area – Pub / walks / beach / local attractions / family days out / wet weather days out
Latest news – What’s new for the season / upgrades to facilities / new products in shop / new bell tents available to book?
What to bring on your trip – Sleeping bags / iceblocks / wellies / marshmallows / wetsuits / binoculars . Make these relevant to your site and your demographics. Plus the tent of course
Meet the Team – Who’s on reception / Saturday staff / holiday cover
Camp life – Behind the scenes / check in day / customer photos / reviews
Having a clear idea of what you are going to post means your followers know what to expect and helps build your reputation as an expert.I recommend you set aside time each month to plan your social media. It will save you heaps of time and worry in the long run.
Why not book an hours content planning masterclass with me. It’s the best feeling when you have all your content pillars in place and a monthly plan that you can keep re -using!
Step three: Make friends with your analytics
I know number crunching isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but making a habit of looking at your Insights can really help you to see where your efforts are being wasted or rewarded.They’ll show you the best times to post and give you valuable information on who your followers are. This could come in handy if you’re struggling with Step One. You might find you have slightly different audiences on different platforms and this will help you to craft your content more specifically for them. A lot of businesses cross-post the same content to each platform to save time and money, but it’s not really best practice. Aim to look at your Insights at least once a week and make a note of your top three performing posts. You will soon build a clear picture of what you’re doing well.
For help understanding your platform analytics why not book a “power hour” with me. It will really make you more strategic with your social media.
Now you know the three steps you need to take to start building a clear and successful social strategy. But remember, social media is a long game, not a quick fix. You need to be prepared to invest time and energy into getting it right.
If you know you need to up your social media game but haven’t got the headspace to do it yourself, I’d love to help you.
I offer a range of services including writing bespoke social media strategies for your campsite or glamping business and you can trust me to get the job done.
Don’t forget to check out my course too. Click here for more info. It will teach you how to use social media to grow your campsite or glamping business. It’s even been featured in Cool Camping