“Ones vision is not a road map but a compass.”
– Peter Block
On the surface, building a thriving image with the help of social media looks fairly easy. There are, after all, thousands of examples of personal brands with excellent social media profiles full of great content in every type of niche.
But if you’ve ever tried (for an extended period of time) to run and manage a social media campaign, you would have noticed that to gain the type of following or garner the levels of engagement some successful personal brands do, takes a well thought out strategy and plan.
Without a well-defined roadmap, social media management quickly run into several common problems. Namely; content that doesn’t target their audience, content that varies in its purpose, and publishing content on an inconsistent basis. All this leads to poor results with lots of time, and probably money, invested.
So before diving into content creation, it’s always wise to take a step back and plan your approach. Whichever process you use to create your social media strategy the following points will help you not only define your vision but outline the steps it takes to get there.
What are my online communications goals?
While creating generic goals might be easy, creating specific and measurable goals that you can work towards is something every marketing expert will tell you to do. And they’re right. Document specific goals (and in what time frame) your personal brand would like to achieve them. This will allow you to narrow your focus and push forward with a clear direction.
Who am I creating content for?
Every product or service has an idea of their ideal customer. By defining exactly who it is you are targeting you can better understand how to align your content with their needs.
You’ll be better able to answer the question, ‘Where will I find my customers and how should I engage with them?’. Having a clear notion of your ideal customer will help you find the right social media platforms suited to your personal brand and audience. Creating the right type of content for the right people is a sure way to get the attention of your target audience.
How will I get my message across?
At this point you have a clear image of who you’re sending your message to, next is deciding on the tone and voice to use in your marketing. Outlining your voice and the tone you use for different audiences and scenarios is what best shares your personality, image, and values.
Create engagement and get valuable feedback by sharing content that speaks to your audience in a format or channel they prefer.
Am I meeting my goals?
When it comes to getting insights into your social media analytics, there is no shortage of different KPIs, metrics, and reporting dashboards to review.
But knowing which ones to focus on, measure, and track is linked to your goals. Review the specific objectives you set yourself at the onset of creating your strategy and use the data that supports those targets.
Knowing when to review your goals or pivot your approach saves you time and money.
It’s important to remember that any social media strategy or content plan usually requires investment at the start. Whether it’s your time or money, the return is worth the resources. In a competitive environment, it could mean the difference between a struggling personal brand and a thriving one.
Knowing how your strategy is performing will help you make informed business decisions.
Are you using social media’s full potential?
At Brieffin we use our expertise to unlock everything social media has to offer your personal brand. We use our experience in content creation, strategy and planning, and social media management to help build consistency and deliver marketing success. Let’s talk.
Our Moment of Bliss
Personal branding is fun! This is why this 2006 “almost classic” song, “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John created the perfect environment for a personal branding inspiration moment. This and more inspiring song moments are waiting on our Spotify playlist.
