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Creating an engaged audience on any of your social networks involves give and take. People "like" brands on Facebook as a sign of support. They shop in your store, appreciate the service provided, and support the work. They have some sort of relationship with your business or organization and are demonstrating a willingness to receive updates. Before developing a working social media strategy, here are some useful information:

Facebook  -- According to a Syncapse study, which surveyed 2,000 respondents, the main reason people like a Facebook Page is because of the relationship they share with the brand.

Here are the top three reasons consumers decide to like a Facebook Page:

• 49% To support a brand I like

• 42% To get a coupon or discount

• 41% To receive regular updates from brands they like

Twitter -- The Advertising Research Foundation, 54% of users took action after seeing a brand mentioned on Twitter. 

• 23% visited the brand's website

• 20% visited the brand's twitter page

• 20% search the brand online

• 19% consider trying the brand

• 18% retweet Tweets mentioning the brand

Social Media is About Relationship Building

Companies and brands readily include their product offerings in social media. Equally, consumers are increasingly comfortable with purchasing products online. Given the promising potential of eCommerce, it is important to have a flexible marketing strategy. A good marketing plan will grow and adjust with the fads and trends within social media. To achieve an effective marketing plan, one must understand both  corporate and consumer perspectives. 

3 Pillars of Creating a Successful Social Media Strategy

Create Detailed Goals And Objectives

A recent article in Forbes Magazine, companies have spent over 11% of their budget on social media. The article says, "Success in the social world of marketing requires a deep connection to the customer and the ability to drive a transformation of the company to embrace a whole new type of customer engagement." As more and more companies work on integrating social media into their corporate marketing and communication plans, there is a growing emphasis in creating a winning social media strategy.

Top-level athletes, successful entrepreneurs and achievers in all areas of life set goals. Goals give a vision of the future, but also motivation in a moment. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge, and helps you to organize your time and your resources so that you can make the very most of your life.

• S – Specific (or Significant)
• M – Measurable (or Meaningful)
• A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented)
• R – Relevant (or Rewarding)
• T – Time-bound (or Trackable)

For example, instead of having "to sail around the world" as a goal, it's better to use the SMART goal "Completed my trip around the world by December 31, 2018." Obviously, this will only be attainable if a lot of preparation has been completed beforehand.

Take Time to Measure Results

It is equally important to measure success after goals and objects are in place. Among the most common goals include:

• Consistent brand placement across social media platforms
• Increase traffic to company website
• Increase positive consumer sentiment and perception towards brand
• Develop relationships for potential partnership opportunities in the future

Analyze, Adjust and Improve 

Once you have measured your success and progress towards your goal, you need to analyze and identify key areas that need improvement, adapt to changing trends and improve your overall social media campaign. Remember, it is not always a straight road ahead, so you need to constantly evaluate and adjust.

Complexities of Social Media 

Social media is very complex and constantly evolving. It’s no wonder why many businesses struggle to figure it out and keep up. While a number have enjoyed quantifiable success, there are also many who failed, and the rest have still yet to figure out their social media strategy.

Missteps in meeting social media goals and objectives occur due to not understanding the important social media concepts. While it is true that social media gives businesses free exposure, many organizations fail to carefully plan the message they want to convey, as they would have normally done for any expensive ad campaign.

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11 Actions for implementing your social marketing strategy

Any organization needs to build and nurture the needs of their social networks. There are many approaches to achieve these results, the following are methods that work:

1. Building relationships first. Business transactions are a by-product of your relationships. Any attempt to overtly sell a certain product or service can easily damage your online presence.
2. Define your target audience carefully, including geographies of focus and identify specific areas of expertise. There is greater value in maintaining a smaller network with regular interactions and active engagements.
3. Automation as a shortcut to relationship building is a fast way to destroy any social media strategy, Take the time to interact with those that choose to follow you. 
4. Consumers no longer have to think of excuses and come up with a polite “no” to a persuasive sales person, all they have to do is to click the “unfollow” button.
5. Organizations must assign a dedicated social media expert. Don’t make the mistake of assigning anyone to handle your social media campaign. The person must be qualified and work independently as a social media evangelist and report directly to top executives.
6. Engagement is more important than follower counts. Organizations should focus on cultivating engagement and not on figures. 
7. Don’t try to cater everyone by being all things to all people. If you are truly keen to reach power users, key decision makers your design your content around your market.
8. Social media is not a place to publish your award-winning sales pitches. Posts should be clear and concise, not emotional or impulsive. It should be carefully constructed and always politically correct.
9. Twitter posts in particular should be free from any gimmicks or hidden strings attached, but instead provide information, free resources and best practices.
10. Updates should be frequent and consist. Social media campaigns are long-term and ongoing efforts, and work as an integral part of the company’s online presence. It is not an 9 to 5:30 weekday job, however update and post 7 to 9 times daily, especially if your potential audience is global. 
11. Social media profiles MUST be impeccable. Profiles are the first and most viewed age in social media platforms. But all too often, it is the most ignored aspect. All elements, including background, images and messages should be consistent with the corporate image and brand.

Consider getting a coach, a life coach, business coach or both. I feel fortunate enough to have had this experience and am now in a position to return the favor to others that are just starting out. If you are interested in a coach, please send me your email so I may contact you directly within the next 24 hours or go to my website: https://21kgroup.com/coaching.