For bloggers, entrepreneurs or small business owners having a social media presence is vital for long-term success. However, creating a social media strategy from scratch can be a tedious process especially if you’re not social media savvy. Here are four easy steps to create a social media marketing plan from scratch.

Step 1: Choose your social networks

• Choose the social networks that best fit your strategy and the goals you want to achieve on social media.
• Audience – Where does your potential readers or customers hang out?
• Time – How much time can you dedicate to a social network? Plan on at least an hour or two per day per social network, at least at the start. (You can use tools like Hootsuite to schedule post ahead of time)

*If you already have a social presence your first step should be to audit your social media accounts.

A few areas to consider when auditing your social media presence are:

• Which networks are you currently active on?
• Are your networks optimized (photo and cover images, bio, URL, etc.)
• Which networks are currently bringing you the most value?
• How do your profiles compare to your competitors’ profiles?
• Are you utilizing the analytics on your social media accounts?

Step 2: Define your target audience

“If you have more money than brains you should focus on outbound marketing. If you have more brains than money, you should focus on inbound marketing.” Guy Kawasaki

To define your target audience you will want to be as specific as possible with this part. For example, if you identify your target market as new entrepreneurs in the United States, between 25 – 40 years of age, primarily uses Facebook and Twitter and have been in business for less than five years. The more specific you can be with defining your audience the better success you will have.

If you’re having a tough time defining your target audience answering the following questions:

• What age or demographic is your target audience?
• What is your target audience located?
• How much income does your audience make per year?
• What social media platforms does your audience use the most?

Step 3: Set specific goals

How will you determine if your social media marketing efforts are successful?

A few metrics to consider measuring are:

• Conversion Rate
• Time Spent on Website
• Reach
• Brand Mentions
• Sentiment
• Total Shares

*Most social media sites has analytics where you can find these metrics.

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