Figuring out what you really want to do with life and share with others is not easy. There are so many options nowadays, and if there isn’t something out there that you want to do, you can create the opportunity. After deciding on your social media messaging strategy, these steps below will help you maximize your reach and spread your message through social skills and social media.

Have a clear message

When it comes to your social media messaging strategy, have a clear message that is short, to the point and simple to understand. Someone who is viewing your content for the first time should be able to know what you are providing them in a couple of seconds. Don’t lose a potential client/follower because they did not know what you are marketing.

Hook your audience in three seconds and keep their attention. People scroll through social media feeds very quickly. Your content needs to stop them in their tracks then have them scroll back to see what you posted. It can be an attention grabbing title, a stunning location they would want to visit, an adrenaline pumping video or an abstract photo that gets them confused and wanting to figure out what is going on.

Once you’ve hooked them, they will now want to check out the rest of your content. Stay constant with your message throughout your content. Focus on one message at a time. What is your core value and the first thing you want your audience to know? Once you have grown your first message then you can expand and pick up another message to share.

Provide value with your content

Now that you have a clear message with what you are marketing, how will it provide value to your audience? Whether you are selling a product or a service, how does it make your user’s life easier? A value doesn’t have to be something monetary or physical. Provide social media messaging that can inspire your audience. Something to motivate them to get up and do something. Believe it or not, envy is also a good motivation. That’s why social media influencers have the job they do. They market their content in a why that makes you want to be in their shoes.

Everyone who is following you is doing so for the same reason, they like whatever you are offering them. That is at least one thing they all have in common. Build a community where they can connect with you and each other on a more personal level than just commenting on each other’s post. Give them somewhere to go to talk about and share similar ideas.

Understanding and responding to your audience

Understand what excites your audience. Understand what made them follow you in the first place. If you can find out what gets them excited and wanting to share your product, you will have them doing half of the marketing for you. Take the Starbucks social media messaging strategy for example. People like personalized things. Something as simple as writing their name on a cup will have them taking a picture of it and sharing it on social media and with friends. Free publicity for Starbucks. Add some hearts or funny misspellings and you’ve got yourself a winning cup.

When you are provided feedback, listen to them. Gather what your friends, family and audience has said and respond if the request or advise is reasonable and in good taste. They will feel like they are a part of your journey and appreciate it. Surround yourself with positive people who want to see you succeed. You don’t have to remove anyone from your life, they just don’t have to be a part of your growing process. There is a difference between people who are shut down every idea you have and people who critique your work. Find people who will provide honest feedback to better yourself and your work. That can be people in your circle, in your interested community, Reddit or Facebook groups. Believe in yourself and your work. Also, you are your hardest critic. So don’t forget to celebrate how far you are come. And don’t forget to celebrate with your audience. They are part of the reason you are where you are. Create milestones and little celebrations.

Making connections

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Sadly, that cannot be true enough. Yes, you still need solid skills and products but the first step is to get in and get noticed. This is why people collaborate. In order to reach the audience of the other group. If you notice, social media influencers, Youtube especially, collaborate with each other through a combined social media messaging strategy. They understand that the audience of the person they are collaborating with are all potential new audience for themselves. When you see a new person mentioned in your favorite YouTuber’s video, you go and check out what they have to offer as well.

Collaboration and networking is very important. It can also be very annoying. If you are an introvert, networking is actually one of the most dreaded task. But not all networking has to be in a conference room. When you chatting and connecting with someone, whether it is your neighbor or the barista, that is networking. Those are the kind of networking that will last longer. They are more genuine. Neither side went hoping to get something out of the situation.

Understanding the different social media platforms and which ones work for you

Anyone who wants to get their message across needs to be on social media. Word of mouth is great but that can only spread so far. Being active on social media will draw in clients from all around the globe. But it’s not good enough to just be on every social platform. You need to be constantly active on each one with a clear social media messaging strategy catered to individual platforms. And learn all the ins-and-outs of what makes each platform unique. That can be very overwhelming. Pick one or two platforms to focus on first. Grow a real following with an active community and get in the swing of things before moving on to the next.

Have a unique offering

What makes what you are offering better than what is already out there? Like Apple, you do not have to be the first at something but you have to be better. Whether you are marketing a lifestyle or material goods, add your personal touches to it. People get tired of seeing the same things over and over. That makes social media messaging boring for you and your audience. Everybody is unique and different. And people get bored of the same old thing. So if you add a bit of your personality and style into your work, that will shine brighter and market better than if you were to stick with the standard.

But be ready. Have something to showcase your work whether it is a website or a media kit. You don’t want to throw something together last minute. The quality of a last minute project will never be as great as something well prepared and thought out. And make sure to keep it up to date. When the opportunity arises, you have to be prepared.

Quality over quantity

People like high quality things. This is why new models come out every year and video quality keeps getting higher. The quality of your content needs to be your best work. Make sure the photos you are sharing vibrant, your videos at the highest quality. Make people want to share your content on their site or tag a friend. Give them a story they want to be a part of.

Keep an idea or inspiration board to pull from for days you need a little motivation. Also, think about what made you inspired by their content. Did it invoke a feeling? Was it something you always wanted to do? What was it about the photo that made you want to save it? Keep those things in mind and think about how you can bring those feelings to your work.

Make it searchable

If you were to Google something related to what you are marketing, what phrases would you search? When creating social media messaging content, keep in mind the phrases or words you yourself would search for. Have a good caption or description. Use keywords. There are tons of resources online that provide you with a list of words to make your content more searchable. A good course to learn more about this is the Google Adword course. You can read more about that course here.

Spend money to make money (not just literally)

Invest in yourself. Invest in your hobby and your passion. More importantly, invest in your business. Investments are not just material goods but also skills as well and marketing social media messaging tactics that will help maximize your reach and impact.

Yes, you still need to have proper gear whether it is a tripod if you are a photographer, software or hardware if you are a designer, a good blender if you are a chef. Do your research based on your budget and availability.

If you are providing a skilled based service, take classes and attend workshops. You can practice, network and get fresh perspective from people in your class. Sometimes, the newbie asking the “dumb” questions will actually be the one with the most out-of-the-box brilliant ideas. They are not used to what the “standard” is so they will have a different frame of mind than what you are so used to.

Once you have some solid content, you are ready to start marketing. Along with marketing through social media, friends, family and your network, look into paid marketing. Think about how much big companies pay for ads. They would not be spending that kind of money if it did not work. You probably don’t need a big billboard on the side of the highway but you will benefit from ads and marketing on social media. Do your research on what social media platforms your target audience would most likely be on, what time of day they are most active, what other things do they follow.

Timing

Time your content to coincide with special events or holidays. Is there a random holiday that you can work your content around? National llama day is coming up, December 9th. If the holiday is big enough or silly enough, social media accounts have special features on them. Work your content around those holidays to get your content featured on the main page.

Keep an ear out for what is trending at the moment? Get into high school gossip mode! What are people talking about? Whether it is good or bad, how does your content apply? Get creative but always make sure you are true to your message.