Welcome to this 52-Step guide to SMM or social media marketing strategies.
This guide will focus on organic (non-paid) social media marketing for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Be sure to bookmark our Free Marketing Guides for a ready reference.
Part 1: Actionable SMM for SMBs (Steps 1-39)
Part 1 will be focused on SMM strategies and tactics for SMBs, which are immediately actionable on your social media accounts.
Foundational SMM
Step Nos. 1-13 of Part 1 of this 52-Step guide will focus on setting up a solid base for the social media accounts of your small and medium-sized business.
Business owners need to define their business/marketing goals and who comprises their ICP (ideal customer profile). Once that has been established, they need to clarify on which social media platforms their ICP spends the bulk of their time.
Define Your Social Media Account Goals – Step 1:
The target or purpose of your social media presence should be defined prior to posting any marketing assets.
For example, is your goal to drive sales, build brand awareness, introduce a new product/service, promote an app download, announce a major company change, support a philanthropic cause, or drive sign-ups for a customer rewards program?
A clear objective will guide all of your future decisions.
Select Your Social Platforms Wisely – Step 2:
You do not have to be on every social media platform in existence. In fact some platforms, depending upon your product or service offering, may be a complete waste of your time and energy.
In the beginning, focus instead on two or three platforms where your ICP – ideal customers – spend most of their time. This prevents you from spreading your resources too thin.
Optimize Your Social Profiles – Step 3:
Your social media profiles are essentially your digital business cards – they are prime “real estate” that should be optimized with as much key company and biographical data as possible.
Your social media profiles should literally function just like a landing page would for a company promoting an offer!
A LinkedIn profile, for example, should include…
- A professional profile photo
- An informative background banner
- An introductory section describing your offer and your ideal customer profile
- A clickable call to action button – e.g., Join My Newsletter or View My Website
- An about section which summarizes your company’s product or service offerings
- A top skills section and a featured section highlighting a specific offer such as a newsletter signup
- Employment, educational background, licenses/certifications, volunteer experience, and honors/awards
Identify Your Target Audience – Step 4:
You shouldn’t be trying to market to everyone. Instead, create a detailed description of your ICP (ideal customer profile). This might include their gender, age range, income, social interests, and pain points.
This will help to make your content much more relevant and engaging.
Create a Content Calendar – Step 5:
A content calendar helps you plan your social media posts in advance.
This prevents last-minute scrambling, and ensures you’re consistently posting (e.g., once a day, 3 times per week) on the various platforms. It also helps you layout a variety of content (e.g., colorful infographics, short-form videos, engaging carousels), which are tailored to the specific platforms and marketing goals of your postings.
One very important aspect of social media posts to be aware of is the quality of your “hook” – which is the main title or the lead sentence of your post. The hook you choose will determine approximately 80% of the success of a social media post. A content calendar will help you brainstorm and plan the types of hooks to apply to which posts.
Master Your Brand’s Voice – Step 6:
Your brand’s voice is its actual personality – the way in which it is perceived by consumers.
You should decide whether you want the public to understand your brand as being, for example, professional, humorous, inspiring, or educational. Once you have chosen your voice, consistency in your messaging is what will build trust and recognition with your audience.
The following companies have done a great job of establishing and communicating their brand’s voices over the years:
- Tesla = Innovative
- Coca-Cola = Nostalgic
- Walt Disney = Magical
- Chase Bank = Human-Centric
Research Your Competitors – Step 7:
What are your competitors doing and what are they promoting on their various social media accounts? This is where the art of social listening comes into play.
Analyze what’s working for your competition and what isn’t – this will give you ideas for content and help you identify gaps in your niche that can be filled.
Example: If your competitor posts a lot of polished, studio produced, educational videos, you might take a different approach, and post genuine user-generated content in order to stand out.
Create a Branded Hashtag – Step 8:
A branded hashtag that is unique to your company helps you 1) track mentions of your business, and 2) encourages your followers to share content related to your brand.
Branded hashtags can be comprised of your company’s name, a slogan, or a specific campaign. Use your hashtags across all of your social media accounts – and encourage your users to both use and follow your branded hashtags.
Set Up Google Alerts for Your Brand – Step 9:
Monitor mentions of your brand on the web. Set up free Google Alerts for your business name to receive email notifications whenever your brand is mentioned in online articles, blogs, or news sources. This helps you find things like a new customer review, a local news article that featured your business, or a positive mention in an industry blog.
Actionable Tip: To set up these alerts, navigate to the Google Alerts website. Sign into your Google account, and in the search box labeled “Create an alert about…”, type in your brand’s name, product name, or any other relevant keywords you wish to track. If you want to customize your alert, you may click the “Show options” link, and modify the alerts based upon filters such as frequency, sources, language and region. Once you are finished, click the “Create Alert” button.
Analyze Your Bio Link – Step 10:
Your “link-in-bio” is valuable real estate on the internet.
Instead of just linking to your homepage, consider using a link-in-bio tool like Linktree or Carrd to direct followers to multiple destinations, like your latest blog post, a new product, or a special promotion.
Engage with Industry Leaders – Step 11:
Follow and engage with thought leaders and top influencers in your industry.
React, comment on, share, and save their posts, to build relationships and increase your visibility within your niche.
Follow their social profiles, and send them DM connection requests to grow your overall network.
Use Social Listening Tools – Step 12:
Social listening is the process of monitoring online conversations and feedback about your brand, company personnel, your industry, and leading competitors. It helps you find out what the overall sentiment is with your products or services, identify trends, gather consumer feedback, and anticipate potential customer service issues.
Establish a Goal for Each Social Post – Step 13:
Prior to creating any social media post, ask yourself these types of questions:
What do want your audience to do?
Is your goal to get them to react to your post by liking it, commenting, and sharing with others? Do you want them to subscribe to something, book a consultation, or register for an event? Are you seeking to raise brand awareness or improve your total number of social media followers?
SMM Content & Engagement
Step Nos. 14-26 of Part 1 of this 52-step guide will focus on developing engaging content and a network of social media followers for small and medium-sized businesses.
Now that you have your foundation, it’s time to start creating compelling content and building a vibrant social community.
Prioritize High Quality Visuals – Step 14:
Social media is a very visual medium. Use high-resolution infographics, multi-page carousels, creative memes, photos, and short form videos, that are visually appealing. A captivating image will stop a user from scrolling past your post.
Write Engaging Captions – Step 15:
Your captions should be more than just a description. They should tell a story, ask a question, or provide valuable information. Use a conversational tone and break up long text with paragraphs, bullet points and emojis.
Leverage Video Content – Step 16:
The popularity of short-form videos on social media has grown significantly in recent years. Consider creating short-form videos for platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
Videos are oftentimes more likely to be shared, and can build an even stronger connection with your audience than other visual mediums.
Example: A home decor store could create a quick “Reel” showing a time-lapse of a room being decorated with their products.
Resource: Wyzowl’s Video Marketing Statistics
Respond to Every Social Media Comment – Step 17:
Engage with your community of followers by responding to every comment you receive, both positive and negative. This shows you’re paying attention, you care about your customers, and want to build a sense of loyalty.
Ask Questions to Drive Engagement – Step 18:
Posing questions in your captions or at the end of a social media post like a carousel or infographic, is one of the easiest ways to encourage comments and boost engagement.
These work very well in conjunction with CTAs or calls to action you would want to include in your social posts. Open-ended questions typically work best.
Repurpose Your Content – Step 19:
Don’t reinvent the wheel every time. Take a successful blog post (for example) and turn it into a series of social media posts, a video script, or a forum topic. This saves time, resources, and ensures your best content gets full exposure.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to repurposing your content!
Example: Turn a long-form blog post on “The 5 Best Rated 007 Movies of All Time” into i) a series of Tweets, ii) an Instagram collage, iii) a 10-minute YouTube video, iv) a Facebook Group infographic, and v) a forum topic on Reddit.
Incorporate User Generated Content (UGC) – Step 20:
Encourage your social media followers to post photos, videos or written accounts of them using your product or service. An example post might be “A day in the life of a five-star high school basketball recruit.”
EGC, or Employee Generated Content, would be a similar type of strategy for brands to consider. An example post might be “A day in the life of a brand manager for Under Armour basketball shoes” which highlights the culture and values of working for the Under Armour Sportswear company.
Ask for their permission to repost it on your social media accounts and be sure to give them credit. UGC is one of the best types of “social proof” you can offer your audience. It is authentic, builds trust, and ultimately helps drive conversions!
Run Polls and Quizzes – Step 21:
Use your platform’s built-in features like Instagram Stories or LinkedIn Polls to gather feedback, drive engagement, and even conduct market research.
Set your polls (or quizzes) to run for at least two-weeks to give your audience enough time to respond, and to give yourself enough time to analyze the results before drawing any final conclusions.
Go Live with Your Video Content – Step 22:
Live video is a powerful tool for connecting directly with your audience. To name a few ideas, you might host a Q&A, give a behind-the-scenes tour, interview an expert, preview an upcoming industry conference, discuss a recent report/study, or create a series of related short-form videos.
Live content often gets priority in a user’s social media feed.
Post Content Consistently – Step 23:
Consistency is more important than frequency. Posting three times a week consistently is better than posting 3 times on a Tuesday, 3 times on a Thursday, and then dramatically altering the schedule the following week.
This helps your target audience know when to expect new content from you. You can even announce the schedule as part of your headline or introduction.
Example: “New Content Is Uploaded Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”
Craft a Strong Call to Action (CTA) – Step 24:
Your CTA tells your audience what to do next. Be direct and use action-oriented verbs that create an emotional connection such as “Book a Demo,” “Reserve Your Spot” or “Try It Risk Free!”
It is important to personalize your CTAs, and avoid generic sounding language such as “Learn More” or “Download Here” or “Sign Up.”
Example: “Ready to start setting meaningful goals? Download our free cheatsheet today!”
Collaborate with Other Businesses – Step 25:
Partner with other non-competing businesses for a giveaway or a joint promotion. This introduces your brand to a new audience and helps both parties grow their social followers.
Example #1: A luxury real estate office could collaborate with a national moving company offering a free property staging analysis, and a discount on moving services after the sale of a home.
Create an Engagement Strategy – Step 26:
Don’t just wait for comments, reactions, saves or reposts on your own social media content.
Spend time actively engaging with other accounts in or related to your industry. React, comment and repost their content, which will be seen by the broader social community.
Example: Spend 30 minutes each day, Monday-Friday, scrolling through posts or hashtags related to your industry, and engaging with posts from other industry professionals, potential customers, and collaboration partners.
Growth & Analytics
Step Nos. 27-39 of Part 1 of this 52-step guide will focus on scaling and tracking the results of your social media activity. Once you have content flowing, it’s time to expand your reach and measure what’s actually working.
Use Relevant Hashtags – Step 27:
Hashtags are essential for discoverability. Use a mix of broad, location, niche, and branded hashtags to reach new audiences.
Example: A local 1-800-Flowers shop might use a mix of hashtags like #whiteroses, #mothersday, #sandiegodelivery, and #1800Flowers, to reach new customers in the San Diego, CA area that are interested in floral services.
Analyze Your Audience Insights – Step 28:
Most social media platforms have built-in analytics. LinkedIn, for example, will let you track metrics such as Impressions, Members Reached, Profile Views, Followers Gained, Reactions, Comments, Reposts, Saves, and Post Viewer Demographics.
Pay special attention to your audience demographics to confirm that your posts are reaching the right people in an organization.
Example: You may find that your audience for a particular social media post is mostly comprised of entry-level personnel, when you are instead trying to target upper-level management who would more likely be the “decision-makers” in an organization.
Schedule Posts at Optimal Times – Step 29
Let’s be honest, submitting an important social media post at 11:00 PM on a Saturday night in your given time zone, will have far less reach and responses than if that same post goes out at 9:00 AM on a Tuesday morning.
Use your platform’s analytics to determine the optimal time to post for your specific audience. Posting when your followers are most active will lead to more reach and engagement.
Hootsuite (a leading social media management platform) has done several studies that suggest the following:
LinkedIn – schedule your posts from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Tuesday-Thursday
Facebook – schedule your posts from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Monday-Wednesday
Twitter/X – schedule your posts from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Tuesday-Thursday
Instagram – schedule your posts from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Monday-Friday
These are general guidelines for these platforms, but can serve as really good starting points.
Run a Simple Paid Social Media Ad – Step 30
You do not need a large budget to try paid social media advertising. Focus on a limited advertising campaign to boost one of your top-performing posts, or run a simple ad to drive traffic to your website for an introductory offer.
This can significantly increase your social reach, beyond just your organic social media posts.
Example: A local fitness club could run a paid Facebook ad targeting people within a 10-mile radius with an offer for a free 30-day trial membership or a free 30-day guest pass to the club.
Test, Learn and Adapt – Step 31
Social media marketing is a continuous experiment or work in progress. Test different types of headlines, body content, posting times, and calls to action (CTAs) to see what resonates best with your audience.
A/B testing (which measures how components like headline variations perform in contrast to each other), is one of the most effective ways to test what to say in your social media campaigns and whether or not it is well received.
Use Instagram Stories and Highlights – Step 32
Stories are a great way to post informal, behind-the-scenes content that expires after 24 hours. Use Highlights to save and categorize your best stories so new visitors can see them in the future.
Think of Stories as your “daily news feed” and Highlights as a “saved playlist” for your brand.
Host a Giveaway – Step 33
A giveaway is a fantastic way to generate buzz, get new followers, and increase engagement.
This is very common on platforms like LinkedIn, where someone will post a new business strategy or tactic that worked particularly well for themselves or their client, and they are now “giving away” the exact steps they used to achieve those specific results.
The rules often include following your account, reacting to your post, using a predetermined code/word in the comments, or providing an e-mail address on a landing page, in order to be eligible to receive a link to the information.
Understand the Algorithm – Step 34:
Each social media platform uses its own proprietary algorithm to decide what content to show users.
These platforms generally favor content that gets high engagement, is relevant to the user, posted consistently, and adds some type of “information gain” (e.g., a unique position or dataset that hasn’t been widely circulated).
Use Emojis Strategically – Step 35:
Emojis can be a great way to add personality and visual interest to your captions, as long as they are used judiciously.
They can also help break up text within the body of a post, and make your content more scannable.
Cross-Promote Your Channels – Step 36:
Encourage your followers on one platform, to follow you on another.
Include a link to your Facebook profile on your Twitter/X page, and a link to your Reddit profile on your LinkedIn profile.
Track Your Key Metrics – Step 37:
Don’t get too caught up in “vanity metrics” like follower count, reactions (e.g., likes, loves, celebrations), and comments on a single post.
Track metrics that align with your goals, such as profile views, clicks to your website, post saves, customer inquiries, and event signups.
Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool – Step 38:
Some platforms like LinkedIn have a native post scheduling tool.
In addition, there are tools specifically designed to help you with calendaring (e.g., Buffer or Later), which will allow you to schedule all your posts in advance.
This saves time, and ensures you post consistently, even on busy days.
Stay on Top of Trends – Step 39:
Pay attention to viral trends and challenges, especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
A good example would be the fairly recent “Ice Bucket Challenge” that swept across social media. Participating in these types of trends can significantly boost your brand’s visibility, as long as there is some relevancy to your particular industry.
Part 2: Advanced Strategy & Agency Partnership (Steps 40-52)
You should now have a good handle on the basics of social media marketing.
Charting Your Brand’s Social Future
Step Nos. 40-52 (Part 2) of this 52-Step guide will focus on scaling your efforts, and determine when and how to bring in professional help.
Create a Simple Sales Funnel – Step 40:
A social media funnel guides users from initial brand awareness, to conversion, and ultimately, to brand loyalty.
The goal is to move a person from a simple follower or engager, to a recurring paying customer.
Use Influencer Marketing – Step 41:
Partner with micro-influencers (those with a smaller, but highly engaged audience) to promote your product.
Micro-influencers are often more affordable, and can come across as being more authentic to prospective customers.
Develop a Crisis Communication Plan – Step 42:
Negative or challenging comments come with the territory in the social media space.
Learn to prepare yourself for any type of potential social media crisis. Have a clear plan for how you will respond, who will respond, and when the response will take place.
This ensures you’ll be able to react quickly, and professionally.
When Should You Hire an SMM Agency or Consultant – Step 43:
If you’ve outgrown what you can do on your own, it’s time to consider hiring an agency or consultant.
Similar to SEO (search engine optimization), there are five (5) primary reasons why you would want to consider hiring the services of an outside SMM professional: i) You’ve hit a plateau, ii) You’re too busy to do it yourself, iii) You are operating in a highly competitive market, iv) You need the input of an SEO professional to be sure you are on track, and v) Your previous agency or consultant did not live up to your expectations.
Defining Your Needs – Step 44:
The very first thing you will want to do before you even begin searching for an agency or consultant, is you should define what you need from an SMM professional.
Do you need someone to…
Manage all your accounts?
Perform select services?
Run paid ad campaigns?
Knowing these needs will help you find the right SMM partner.
How to Research an SMM Agency or Consultant – Step 45:
Identify which agencies or consultants understand your industry, have experience with businesses of your size, and serve the local communities in which your company is located.
If available, read case studies and client testimonials to see their track record.
Important Note: If the SMM provider is a relatively young business, there may not be a lot of current case studies or client testimonials for them to offer. That does not mean they are any less competent or knowledgeable about SMM best practices.
What to Look for In an Agency or Consultant – Step 46:
The most important initial thing to look for in an agency or consultant is whether or not they are transparent about their processes.
Then, you’ll what to confirm that they use data-driven strategies.
Thirdly, you want to work with an agency or individual who has strong communication ethics (i.e., they offer to meet with you on a regular basis and return phone calls within a reasonable amount of time).
They should be willing to show you their portfolio of work, and explain their approach.
Important Note: Newer or younger agencies/consultants may not have an extensive library of work available in comparison to older or more established ones. It does not mean less established agencies or consultants are less competent or knowledgeable about SMM best practices.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring – Step 47:
You’ll want to know about their approach to the following:
Strategy
Reporting
Pricing structure
Communication practices
A good preliminary question to ask is, “What kind of results can a business like mine expect within the first 90 days?”
The Onboarding Process – Step 48:
A good agency or consultant will have a clear onboarding process.
A larger entity may have a more formalized process, while a boutique or individual consultant’s approach to onboarding might be less formal and more relaxed.
You would typically be presented with two (2) types of documents for review and signature: i) Master Services Agreement (outlining broader engagement terms), and ii) Statement of Work (refining specific scope of work).
Be prepared to share your brand’s guidelines, past performance data, and access to your social media accounts and analytics.
Setting Clear Goals and KPIs – Step 49:
You and the agency or consultant should define which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) align with your business goals.
For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, a relevant KPI is the number of clicks from social media content that results in direct traffic to your website.
Trusting the Experts – Step 50:
Once you’ve hired an agency or consultant, it is time to trust their expertise and knowledge.
They know the latest trends and best practices, and should keep you in the loop whenever anything is executed on your behalf.
Stay open to their suggestions, as they may have a different perspective.
Maintaining an Effective Partnership – Step 51:
Schedule regular meetings to review progress, as previously touched upon.
Discuss upcoming campaigns, and provide feedback (e.g., customer responses).
Open and transparent communication is the key to a successful long-term partnership.
Measuring the ROI – Step 52:
You should review your results at least once every three (3) months to ensure you are getting a positive ROI (return on your investment.
Assess how your social media presence has improved (e.g., follower count, post reactions, website click through rate), and ensure it continues to contribute to your business goals.
*************************
Should you have any questions about the content of this 52-Step guide to SMM that we’ve compiled, or if you’d like a free consultation, we can be reached through our Contact page.
Thank you – Romanelli Digital