Fixin' to...

Southerners are well known for "fixin' to" do something. It means we're preparing, planning, and looking ahead, and those aren't bad things to do if you're fixin' to launch a social media page. Let's talk about how to plan and prepare for your new social media channel.

Starting a new social media channel is fun and exciting! It's really easy to get wrapped up in that excitement and want to launch your page as soon as possible. Launching a new social media channel requires some serious preparation, however. But, with careful planning, you can create a focused communication channel that reaches your target audience and accomplishes your goals. Let's tackle this plan piece by piece:

Why are you starting this social media channel?

To focus your thinking, start with why you want to start a new social media channel and be very clear with yourself on this reason. If it helps, write this down at the top of your planning board!

• Why do you want to share your specific content or experience? What about it excites you? Sharing your passion and excitement is really enticing to audiences and important to communicate through your social media accounts.

• Why do you want to be on social media? What do you hope to accomplish? Be clear on your goals for the new channel. Are you trying to promote your brand, establish your expertise, grow your client base, or get support from others? Think through this and add it to your planning board. Rank your reasons, if it helps you stay focused on your priorities.

Who will you be "talking" to?

Knowing and understanding your target audience (who you want to talk to) is very important. Everytime we think about creating a post or content, we're going to think about it from that audience's point of view. To an extent, we'll be creating content that delivers our message but using our audience's voice. Knowing your audience will help determine things like:

• Do we use a more or less formal "voice" (ie. slange vs. proper language)

• Who do we feature in photos

• Do we post content that is heavier in language or visuals

In defining your audience, think about their daily routine, lifestyle, family makeup, hobbies, interests, concerns, and future aspirations. Knowing these things about the audience you hope to speak to will help you create content that is of interest and engaging for your audience.

What content are you going to post?

Take a look at your planning board and read over what you hope to do or accomplish through your channel. This will help guide your content ideas. The perfect content blends what you want to accomplish with what your audience wants to know or finds interesting.

For example, pretend you are a hairstylist who wants to start a social media channel to educate clients on what certain hair products do. This is beneficial to you because it increases your product sales and, therefore, your bottom line. Your clients are busy soccer moms who don't have a lot of time to style their hair. A great blend of both interests would be to showcase products that make styling hair faster and easier - add this serum and blow dry to look like you spent hours straightening your hair. Now, you have a winning post that sells serum and is info your audience wants to have!

The biggest thing to note about content is that you're going to need a LOT of it. Well thought out content can't be created instantly. You're going to need to plan out what you're going to say, what photos/video/graphics you need, and how the timing of the post works with the time of year/holidays/seasons, etc.

A good starting rule is to have 2 months of content created before you launch your channel. That way, you can continue to create content and won't fall behind in your regular posting schedule. Which leads us to...

When will you post?

So, how often should you post? Start by taking a look at your organization's calendar. The ideal amount to post is usually 2-3 times per week to start. After 3 months, take a look at your analytics and see if you need to adjust your posting frequency. Try to decide on regular days and times to post so that your audience will know when to expect your new content but not be overwhelmed by it. Posting every day is not usually a realistic goal for organizations.

Your next step is to create a planning calendar to schedule out your posts. You may want to create a pattern that varies educational versus entertaining content. Pencil in your ideal content type for each day and then start adding in ideas for each post. This gives you a structure to start collecting the content you need to fit your calendar.

Many social media managers start with a basic spreadsheet to categorize and plan out their posts. Even the most basic planning will help keep you on track and keep your posts focused on your goals and your target audience. Here's a quick example of what that can look like:

Is my new channel successful?

When you're creating your planning sheet, don't forget to add a space for tracking how your posts perform! Knowing which posts get the most engagement is a very valuable piece of information for you to have. This enables you to adjust your future posts to feature more of the content your audience engages with and enjoys.

Time to post!

If you've thought through the questions above, created your content calendar, and collected content to start with, you're well on your way to a successful new social media channel. Congratulations! Enjoy watching those new follows, likes, and subscribes roll in.

Signing off,

the Social Media Gurus @ blue ink