What’s missing from your social media strategy?

5 ways to connect on a more personal level across your social media platforms

Establishing a successful social media strategy involves more than just posting the right types of updates about a new product or a service, sharing a piece of relevant information, or accumulating followers. Essentially, it all boils down to human connections, the one thing that most marketers overlook when they plan and execute social media strategies.

If you want to achieve an effective social media strategy with your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or LinkedIn accounts, make sure that you are able to engage and interact with your target audience. Operative word: target audience. In social media marketing, it is not about the quantity, but the quality. You want your followers to be comprised of people who are actually interested in you, your brand, your product or service, or your business.

Being liked or followed by your target niche allows your message to get across and deliver positive results for your business because your online community is open to receiving it. When you are able to effectively connect to your audience, it becomes so much easier to persuade them to subscribe to your email newsletter, buy your products and services, and become raving fans of your brand and company.

5 Ways to establish effective human connections in Social Media Marketing

• Define your goals for your Social Media Community

Before you begin developing your social media base, choose measurable objectives that are aligned with your business objectives. Here are some examples:

• Build your brand

The only way you can move your audience to actually make a purchase or book your services is by being a familiar and trusted name.

• Establish your thought leadership

Position yourself as an expert in your industry and share insights to build your brand, generate leads, and eventually drive sales.

• Create your house file or key contact priorities

Build an accurate database of your social media followers so you are able to reach out to them in future marketing campaigns or you can use the functionality within the social media platforms, such as 'Lists' in Twitter to prioritise your contacts or 'Tags' in LinkedIn.

• Convert your followers into customers

Nurture your social media connections to grow into a business relationship by addressing their specific needs and motivations, providing them with solutions to their concerns, or giving them a better alternative to something they already have. Think about where they are in the sales funnel and provide relevant content which meets their psychological needs.

• Encourage customer retention

Market to existing customers and keep them coming back for more with exclusive membership rates and loyalty rewards programs that will motivate them to remain devoted to your brand.

• Delight your raving fans

Keep loyal customers happy, as they are your best brand ambassadors, and consider different techniques including loyalty programs, offers, promotions, rewards and opportunities to provide reviews, depending on your business.

2. Be consistent with your brand image

Social media is a marketing communications tool and, as such, must be aligned with who you are as a business entity. Decide on how you want to be known for on social media and make sure that all your posts and comments are aligned with your brand image.

3. Cultivate relationships with your Peers

Before you seek followers and influencers, take the time to get to know your neighbours, competitors, customers and influencers to build connections across each social media platform. Find your friends and colleagues, and connect with these people whom you already know and like. Search for other people who share the same interests and join these groups. There are tools you can use to extend your reach.

4. Build solid connections with Influencers and Followers

Develop your social media community by reaching out to your target audience's  online influencers. Most influencers get tons of requests, so make sure you make a good first impression by checking their blogs and social media communications to find out what they want. Also, get a social media buddy whom you can get along with and work together on your social media efforts.

5. Monitor and track results

While it's great to have thousands of followers and likes, these are not relevant unless they lead to revenue. Social media analytics and data will allow you to identify what is working and what isn't in your social media campaigns. Pay close attention to the analytics and collect a sufficient amount data to base your future decisions on. You will need at least one month's worth of data to ensure that you are making an informed decision.

As a marketer or business owner who uses social media to reach their target niche and more effectively achieve results, always keep in mind that your social media community is comprised of real people who need to have their personal goals met first, before they can take actions that will help your business achieve yours. Once you've realized that managing your social community goes beyond the numbers and start focusing on strengthening human connections, you will be able to notice these relationships evolve from followers to customers.

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Thanks to Michelle Anne for sharing her advice and opinions in this post. Michelle is the SEO Specialist of ClickMinded. You can follow her on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.