With the capabilities of social advertising continuously expanding, this starts a whole different game for the traditional community management efforts on social. Yes, we’re still posting relevant content that will speak to a company’s audience, but now we can actually target the specific group of users that we’re looking to reach and see some really strong engagement metrics.

What does that mean? Brands need to make sure that their social media content strategy is on point. What may work for one platform may not be the best strategy for another, and it is important for brands to understand how each individual channel may be beneficial to the bottom line of their business. Content must be presented on each specific platform to build a cohesive strategy that communicates the intended messaging to the target audience without saying the same thing over and over again on each network. I’ve outlined the details for each of these 5 social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, to help your business’ social media plan produce results.

Facebook

With over 1 billion users, Facebook is a tough social network to ignore. In recent months, we are seeing a decrease in the organic reach of brand pages, and are expecting this to decrease even further, but even so, it still remains a highly effective social network for companies. Toss a little advertising budget behind those efforts, and boom, you’re back in business. I suggest Facebook for most brands, but I’m completely biased as it is my favorite social network (Instagram coming in at a close second).

Build your content strategy to include a matrix of what exactly your audience will want, and be sure to include captivating imagery that supports the text in that post. Both informational and promotional content is great, but be sure to offer outside news as well as industry-relevant content to give users material that is easily digestible, relevant, and shareable. As previously mentioned, organic reach is extremely low, so I suggest quantity over quality when it comes to posting.

Twitter

140 character limit. Moving feed. Twitter limits the characters to 140 including a link, AND this number goes even lower if there is an image attached. While there doesn’t have to be an entirely different voice from the brand’s Facebook page, it DOES have to be presented differently. I suggest a higher frequency in posting efforts for one’s social media content strategy on Twitter with the moving feed to increase your chances of being seen by those who follow you. To keep your post views up, it is important to include relevant hashtags and keywords in your content to emerge in results for users that may be searching for something related to what you’re saying.

Instagram

Emoji heart eyes. Instagram is a photo & video sharing social network that basically gives users an inside look at a brand, their products, or their people. This is a really great platform to take your target audience on an experience with you, may it be with product imagery or in-office happenings. This network isn’t quite as promotional in my opinion, and the best brands are keeping their content strategy light, fun, and easy for a user to absorb (and <3) of course. I usually suggest incorporating Instagram into your social efforts if, AND ONLY IF, you have strong image assets. Advertising was recently released to all advertisers, so we can definitely expect a boost in brand activity in the near future.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social network, often used as a networking tool for business, networking, job opportunities, and more. This platform is often used by B2B companies aiming to engage with other businesses, as they are their target audience. I am seeing quite a few B2C brands act as a B2B with a hybrid approach to selling as a B2C company on other social networks, and engaging with other businesses on LinkedIn for wholesale agreements, employment, investor relations, etc.

While this is ultimately a professional network, brands are able to create a Showcase Page in which they can to share company updates, thought leadership pieces, and promotional content to their target audience. It’s fine to keep the content light and easily digestible like Facebook, but make sure that the content is tailored to speak to a user that may be on the network for professional reasons rather than checking in on their Auntie’s Facebook timeline.

Pinterest

This image-oriented social platform is, at its most basic level, an online pinboard that acts as a visual take on a social bookmarking site. Users can upload their own content, or pin the content of others to create a collection of pinboards. Similar to Instagram, I only suggest implementing Pinterest into your social media marketing strategy if your brand has captivating, high-quality imagery. Content is driven entirely by visuals, and while this is viewed as more of a “pretty” social network, it can be quite a strong channel for the right brands.

Social Media Content Management

There are countless social networks, and with the right audience research, you can determine which ones are the best fit for your brand. Create your social media marketing strategy to aim towards a cohesive effort to drive value for your brand, but it is important to consider the user experience for each of these platforms and tailor your content strategy accordingly.