In the Digital Tailors community, we believe in the power of starting together. Together we can guide your business, show you the results first hand, because we’re just starting out as well. We are thinking about being transparent and showing how we are evolving and even taking on the challenge if an attempt fails.
What will the process look like in reality? We’ll come back monthly with digital summaries of what we’ve focused on and what we’re proposing. You can build your own strategy on this, or just add to your current one. The only downside is just the pace of the build-up – if you want to start earlier, you’ll want to get advice from an expert you trust.
However, if you’re feeling like you’re about to start your own social journey (or want to kick-start your stagnant digital presence), put aside all good-advice for a moment and let’s start by answering the following questions together!
- What social channels are close to your heart?
- Do you know what the different social channels are good for?
- What do you have the capacity to do in your daily life?
The ideal channel mix for you
All marketing experts agree that without a social strategy foundation, a lot of energy is wasted until we reach the method and toolbox that is close to what works for us. But what is less talked about is the framework from the client’s side, for example, despite all the good advice, they mainly feel comfortable with written content and are frighted at the idea of doing a Facebook live.
However excellent the strategic material that is put in front of the client, if they are not comfortable with the content production process and cannot put their heart into it, the collaboration will not be successful. Not to mention that if we just want to “have something done”, the result will come accordingly.
Of course, we’re not saying that you shouldn’t work with social media experts. We’re just saying that it’s a collaborative effort and shouldn’t fizzle out on a shared topic excel sheet. So our feeling is that the client needs to understand and feel connected to social platforms and that their involvement will be the extra element that prevents the channel from becoming template-driven and empty.
When choosing channels, it is also important to consider the preferences and behaviors of the target audience. A thorough market analysis and consumer research can help identify which platforms the target audience is active on and which channels they are most open to messages and further interactions.
It is also important to consider the characteristics and capabilities of the platforms. For example, when selling a visual product, visual-based platforms such as Instagram or Pinterest may be more effective. On the other hand, if you want to share professional content, a professional social networking site like LinkedIn may be the right choice. But this brings us to the next very important part.
What should you use Facebook and LinkedIn business pages for?
We’ve prepared our in-house mini SWOT analysis for social channels, which shows what strengths and opportunities each have if used well. As a result of this, our Digital Tailors community first decided to appear on Facebook and LinkedIn. It can also be important for our clients to have a broader view to help them decide which channels to invest in.
Facebook is the home of news and updates that connects us with family, friends, clients, colleagues and fans. It was important for us to be able to:
- Enhance transparent communication between business and community
- It’s one of the broadest platforms for consumers
- Live opportunity: statistics show that from the end of 2022, we are watching live streams on a weekly basis. This is a challenge for our community, but we wanted to try it anyway.
Linkedin is the “headquarters” of business social media platforms. It is a platform to provide a short professional presentation of your services/products. It was important to us that it helps:
- Connect with potential partners, clients
- Showcase our professional team – through the channel and personal profiles
- Networking, event management
- Gather information about your followers
- Share information about conferences, training, awards, professional meetings
Your daily capacity
The client can always look for a professional partner if they feel they are at the edge of their capacity. But in our experience there is a lot of misunderstanding here, because despite outsourcing the task, the guiding principles, annual business objectives, deeper product/service insights and market know-how remains with the client. So it’s worth thinking about the channel mix even if we don’t bring the task in-house, as the questions will bounce back to the CEO, marketing expert, and internal decision makers.
Even if you have passed on all your knowledge in a quick meeting, you cannot fully tick-off this task. It’s worth keeping it fresh, giving input to the experts, asking for a market or competitor research or even audits on the go. Not to mention tracking results and the accountability of the collaboration. These should also be factored into the decision-maker’s time!
Why is all this important?
If you can identify your strengths and limitations along the lines of the above questions before creating a social or any other digital strategy, it can greatly help any expert to see what commitment you can bring into the collaboration. It will add the extra value that will ensure your messages are delivered on the right channel, with content that is close to your heart.
