Social Media Planning takes time and creativity. New Year’s resolutions aren’t for everyone and some people stick to them but others make mini goals along the way. Planning your social media strategy is usually someone on the list but by the end of January, many business owners quickly lose sight of their objectives and social media becomes less of a priority, as time is taken up with important tasks.
It’s wise to have a helicopter view of where you’re at, see what’s working for you, what’s not and where new opportunity might exist in the year ahead.
Let’s look at the various different channels and avenues you should consider for 2022 and factor them in as part of your Social Media Marketing strategy.
Looking Back
So, before we look forward, let’s look back. Using your analytical tools whether those be directly on the platform or on 3rd party tools take a look to see what worked for you and what didn’t.
For example, you might want to go to ‘insights’ on the Instagram app’. In there, you can view up to the last 90 days of content. Have a look to see what’s working and what isn’t. Which stories had the most views, which posts had the most reach and which reels got the most plays?
Analyse the type of content that worked. Try and work out if there are any nuances that work best. Perhaps you’ll notice a trend in the best time of day to post for example. This can be different depending on the type of business that you run.
Looking Forward
Now, having analysed what worked and what didn’t you need to consider your channels and strategy for the year ahead. Key questions to ask and consider at this stage are?
- What are your business goals?
- Who is your target audience?
- Where does your target audience live online?
- What type of content do my target audience consume?
And following from the answer to these questions you need to choose the platforms and channels to place this content on. Let’s take a look at some of the key social media platforms you should consider utilising in 2022 for your business.
TikTok
OVERVIEW – TikTok has continuously been the most downloaded app in the app store for successive months in 2021. They’ve grown into a behemoth of social media. They still suffer a little bit from being known as a dancing app for kids but if you spend an hour or so on there you’ll find out it couldn’t be further from the truth.
WHO SHOULD USE IT – If you’re targeting a b2c audience this is for you. Some big brands have come onto the platform and learned how to use it properly. You have to make TikTok specific content. If you’re re-sharing content you’ve made for another platform it probably won’t work. We would encourage you to get in there early because as time goes on they will start throttling back on the reach and it will become a more pay to play model like Facebook.
OVERVIEW – Facebook is one of the original beasts (and still the biggest) of the Social Media Platforms. In 2021, they made a big change and changed the umbrella company name to Meta. We think they made this change for 2 reasons. 1; The Facebook name was becoming a little tarnished due to the types of content Facebook were promoting on the platform especially after a whistleblower came out against them just recently. 2; The Metaverse which is seemingly the future of the web and social media. Side note: It’s wise as a marketer / business owner to learn about the Metaverse as you will need to adapt your skillset at some point to account for this new way of working.
WHO SHOULD USE IT – Facebook is suitable for all types of business from b2c to b2b. That said, the organic reach is extremely low so you should be prepared to use paid for advertising to gain reach / followers / leads on the platform. You might also consider looking at groups on Facebook. Community is something that’s extremely important in social media these days and if you have an engaged community this can really help boost your bottom line.
OVERVIEW – Twitter has been an ever-present platform in the social media space for years now. It’s considered to be a little bit more, let’s say, high brow than the others. You may for example find more CEO’s on Twitter. They’ll be using it to garner knowledge about their industry or sector or network with peers. Lately, Twitter seems to have become an educational platform and there seems to be a trend where educational threads are created and consumed.
WHO SHOULD USE IT – Twitter is ideal for a B2B audience but also b2c / e commerce companies and the like. It’s also a useful tool for customer service which could be seen as an in-direct marketing tactic too. A lot of big brands use Twitter well and done properly can show some brand personality. Twitter could also be a way to arrange meetings with people you’d be keen to speak to. You could use it alongside LinkedIn for example. (Find the lead on LinkedIn and engage with them on Twitter).
OVERVIEW – LinkedIn is predominantly a business platform. A place where you may go as an individual to find a job or learn from your peers. But, it’s also a place where you can share your expertise and become a thought leader in your field. It’s the place if you want to publish business orientated content.
WHO SHOULD USE IT – Individuals can use LinkedIn to help foster new relationships and create leads for the business. It’s essentially a platform for B2B but your b2c brand could share content there too. You might also want to use LinkedIn advertising and groups.
OVERVIEW – Instagram (part of Meta) is the original photo sharing social media app (certainly in the minds of consumers). That said, it has since evolved and as their CEO stated this year it is now predominantly a video sharing platform. One of the key focuses of Instagram right now is reels and that’s in response to the success of TikTok. Most major brands are on Instagram and your customers are more than likely operating there too.
WHO SHOULD USE IT – Instagram is a multi-faceted app’. Like Facebook there are a broad range of users on there. Whilst it may be struggling to keep up with TikTok right now it’s always adapting and changing so don’t discount it. As well as reels the story feature can be used well to engage with your audience and you should be using the app’ especially if you have a b2c audience.
Other Platforms to consider as part of your social media marketing goals in 2022!
Pinterest – If you have a visual led product then Pinterest is still worth consideration. The app continues to evolve and drive traffic to your blog / website etc
YouTube – Everyone knows YouTube. It’s the 2nd most used search engine behind Google. They’ve also introduced YouTube Shorts recently to take on TikTok and Instagram Reels so definitely worth looking into.
Reddit – There is a niche audience on Reddit but still a marketable audience. You have to play the long game here as the community will spot any opportunistic marketers looking for a quick hit.
Quora / Medium – These platforms are worth looking at (alongside LinkedIn) for thought leading pieces that might help drive traffic to your website
WhatsApp – We mentioned community above. You can see a whatsapp group as key to building a micro-community and marketing to them.
Conclusion
The internet and social media continue to give us all amazing opportunities to grow our business however the key thing is to decide on the best platforms for you and your business. Ask yourself which can you make the biggest impact on and which is not worth wasting your time on. This can be half the battle.
Once you’ve done this consider the type of content you will make but take into account the platform you are making it for. You can create one large piece of content and splice it to work on the various different platforms you choose.
If you need help with this, your strategy or your marketing (paid for or social media), reach out to Social Ant to arrange. Email hello@socialant.co.uk