30 Day Social Media Success Plan
Whether you’re interested in generating more organic traffic to your site or expanding the reach of your brand and messaging, nothing can be as helpful to your business as tapping into the world of social networking sites and apps.
The world of social media has not only captured the attention of businesses worldwide, but it’s also a place where ordinary citizens – the consumers – are enjoying camaraderie, absorbing information, and sharing their thoughts with others.
To ignore the appeal and power of social media would be a detriment to your online business efforts. But how do you go from someone who simply has a blog to a brand capable of dominating social media?
With the 30-day success plan listed below, you’ll be able to engineer a strong presence on social sites with just a bit of time and effort using bite-sized tasks and strategies that benefit both you and your prospective customers.
Day 1: Decide How You Want to Be Known on Social Platforms
The first thing you have to do in your social planning process is decide what you’ll do in terms of branding yourself on social media. You can brand your own name or brand as a business.
You can use keyword phrases, like weight loss coach or gardening expert. However you do it, make sure you’re not going to change your mind, because as you begin building on the social platforms, you don’t want to have to suddenly try to rebuild different accounts or become known as someone else.
Day 2: Know Your Goals with Social Media
Any effort you put into social media needs to be measurable. You don’t want to blindly embark on random tasks without having a plan in place and goals to pursue. So spend a day thinking about what you hope to get out of your social media usage.
Don’t just do it because everyone else is. First, consider things like the traffic you can generate, or the revenue you can grow on these sites and apps. Be specific about what you want to see in the first month, and at monthly intervals.
Also think about the time you want to devote to your social accounts. You need to have goals that correlate with whatever commitment you’re willing (and able) to put into this strategy.
Day 3: Have Graphics That Are Identical Across Platforms
Graphics are an important part of social media success. The key is to have professional brand designs that represent you in your niche identically across all platforms. That means you have the same look on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and elsewhere.
This is a strategic part of helping your audience recognize your brand wherever they are. If they’re logged onto Facebook and see you in their feed, they can interact with you – the same as if they stumble upon a post you made on Instagram or TikTok.
If you don’t make graphics yourself using tools like Photoshop or Canva, outsource it to a freelancer and tell them what you need. For example, they can create identical brand images for your YouTube channel header, Facebook header, and profiles across other platforms.
Day 4: Create Avatars of Your Social Audience for Messaging
Avatars are representative of the demographic makeup of your target audience. Whether they’re male or female, old or young, rich or on a budget – you can map out their appearance, behaviors, needs and wants so that it gives you an edge when creating content for your social media accounts.
This is important because different demographics respond to slants in different ways. You may appeal to more than one demographic, too. For example, depending on the niche you’re in, you might be followed by both men and women of all ages, budgeting or not, and whose behaviors may be unique from one another, but who are all pursuing the same goal.
Day 5: Gather Keywords for Use as Hashtags
Social media is filled with competitors all vying for the attention of a target audience. While good content will serve you well, you still have to get found by people or your message will get lost in a sea of voices.
One way to increase findability is to employ the use of hashtags. These are keywords and phrases prefaced with a # sign. So if you were targeting the weight loss niche, you’d use hashtags like #weightloss, #diettips, and so on.
You can start by generating a list of keywords and phrases using a free or paid keyword tool. But also use the social media platforms themselves to see what users are tagging their posts and shares with.
You might find hashtags you hadn’t considered, such as #weightlosscheckin or #30dayweightlosschallenge and you can see what kind of interest there is, before tailoring some content to appeal to those looking for those hashtags.
Day 6: Scout Out Social Platforms to Find Your Target Audience
You may be surprised, once you start immersing yourself on various social platforms, to find a target audience you didn’t think you would be there. For example, TikTok is commonly known to be tween and teen app, where kids are doing silly dances.
But you might be surprised to know there’s a huge following of seniors for anti-aging, a big audience of all ages and both genders who follow gardening accounts, men and women interested in survival and homestead, and more.
Don’t assume your audience is or isn’t on a social platform. Go there yourself and search for the posts to see if there is enough engagement to warrant any effort there on your part.
Day 7: Set Up a Profile, Page and Group on Facebook
In most cases, you’ll want to start with Facebook. This is a site that still holds a powerful grip on consumers in terms of niche participation. Not only can users follow pages of brands and personalities, but they can join groups and interact with others on the same path.
You want to set up a profile, if you don’t have one already – but also create both a page and group for your business. The page can be brand specific. The group can be more of a topic rather than your brand, but you’ll be in control of it.
Using Facebook, you can update your fans and followers on your page, and engage with them in the group, where you can educate them and pinpoint their most pressing needs, interacting with them regularly.
Day 8: Stake Claim to a YouTube Channel of Your Own
YouTube is the second largest search engine online. So it stands to reason that you’ll want a channel of your own. Many online entrepreneurs get intimidated at the thought of creating a channel here.
But you don’t have to be on camera. You can use free slide presentations from sites like Canva to record your videos and share useful information. Make sure you set up a channel that looks professional and appealing.
Day 9: Register an Instagram Account for Your Brand
Instagram is another social platform that many people often get wrong. It’s not just for beauty influencers. There are IG accounts for many different niches, so you want to stake claim to the Instagram for your brand.
You’ll want a profile image and the setting for your brand to be public. Try to keep aesthetics in mind when you share posts on Instagram. Get better at photography, whether you’re snapping a picture of a tomato you grew in a container glistening with morning dew for your gardening audience, or sharing a precious picture of your four-legged friend for a dog niche IG account.
Day 10: Create a Pinterest Account and Set Up Your Boards
On Pinterest, you have the ability to segment your brand using Pinterest boards. For example, if you’re a weight loss marketer, you might have a board for the Keto diet, one for calorie deficits, another for vegetarianism, and so on.
It’s good to break down your niche and begin populating your boards with Pins that others can share. You may also want to join some collaborative group boards, where everyone shares each other’s Pins to get more exposure.
Day 11: Sign Up on TikTok with a Brand Account
TikTok is very intuitive with their algorithm. It watches the behavior of users carefully and then shows them more of what they interact with most. So you want to carefully search for and follow and engage with accounts in a similar niche as you.
You can choose to have a regular or business account on TikTok. Claim your brand name or personal name, depending on how you’re marketing online as your @username here, and upload a relevant profile picture.
Day 12: Strike a Combination of Branding and Personalization 
Social media accounts should never be used to just pummel your target audience with paid offers. Yes, your brand needs to hit the mark when presenting solutions to the problems of your niche audience.
But it’s important that you also achieve the right level of personalization and engagement with others from a non-revenue aspect. You can personalize your account by sharing stories, being transparent, having a serious or funny tone that’s different from your other content, etc.
Day 13: Know When to Post Your Content
Posting at the right time on social media is important. If your target audience is scrolling TikTok between 7-9 PM and you’re posting at 8 AM every day, your content might not get the traction you were hoping for.
Analytics can tell you exactly when most users were engaging with your content. If you’re able to publish at the right (ripe) times, you’ll get more exposure to your content. There are even tools you can use to schedule content to be published on social media for you automatically at the right time, if you’re unavailable.
Day 14: See What Media Format Best Resonates with Your Followers
Not all media formats get the same response. On Facebook, for example, posts with images seem to get more engagement than those without. On TikTok, you won’t get shown on the for you page with a 3 minute video, but you can with a 60 second or under video.
You want to see what type of content gets the most engagement from your audience, so play around with it. See if it’s long content or short, playful or serious, hybrid or solo formats, and more.
That doesn’t mean you give up everything else, but you can then make a conscious decision to provide your audience with more of what they’re following you for. If your 60-second tip videos are killing it, then do more of the same rather than forcing everyone to watch 10-minute videos.
Day 15: Watch the Engagement on Your Posts
You never want to just keep pumping out content without seeing what effect it’s having on your business, if any. The great thing about social media is you can see the views, shares, likes and comments at a glance.
Some platforms will tell you who’s watching your content, their gender or age group, location, time of engagement and more. Be sure to do a weekly, if not daily analysis of this information so that you can capitalize on the data and help your profile succeed.
Day 16: Encourage Others to Share Your Content
Don’t assume people will just share your content or help it go viral on social media. Usually, people need a quick reminder or spark that ignites their ability to take action in sharing your posts.
You can say something as simple as, “If you like this content, be sure to like and share it with others so I can help more people.” You don’t have to badge them to do it, just initiate the reminder.
Day 17: Create a Lead Magnet to Turn Followers Into Subscribers
Your lead magnet should hone in on one of the most pressing pain points for your target audience. Make sure you have a link to your lead magnet page in the profile of each of your social media accounts.
Day 18: Have a Profit Strategy in Mind for Your Social Accounts
One reason you will probably be using social media is to increase your profits. Instead of just hoping your fans and followers will buy something from you, be strategic about it. For example, you might want to create a series of brief tips that lead into the recommendation of a full course.
Or, you can create teasers on your social media account that lead up to a full scale launch. Make sure you are listening to the needs of your social followers so that you can specifically let them know when you have created a product or service that addresses their needs. Brainstorm a campaign that goes across different platforms over several days.
Day 19: Make Sure Every Post Includes a Call to Action
Whether it’s something as simple as liking and sharing the content, as discussed previously – or something else such as, “Download your free report through the link in my bio,” you want to deliver a call to action in every post you create.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as encouraging engagement. You might just say, “Be sure to like this post,” or, “Comment below and let me know your thoughts.” This can make people break out of their shell and begin participating with you.
Day 20: Prepare a Content Publishing Calendar for Your Accounts
When you have several different social media accounts, along with a blog and list to cater to, it can be daunting to consider creating content for all of them. It’s a good idea to create a publishing calendar for your social accounts so that you know what you’re going to discuss, on what day.
Social media typically requires frequent content – daily, if not multiple times per day, depending on the platform. It doesn’t have to be massive amounts of content (after all, some TikToks are only 5 seconds long), but it does need to be engaging or provide value.
Day 21: Repurpose Content from One Platform to Another
One good way to cut down on the work you have to do is to repurpose content. For example, you can start with a YouTube video where you download a segment with a good tip and upload that to TikTok.
You can use a quote or short section of the transcript of the video to share on Facebook. You can even capture a screenshot of the video to post on Instagram. Don’t make content creation harder than it has to be.
Day 22: Collaborate and Network with Other Leaders on Social Networking Sites
Working with other social media influencers and leaders is a good way to enhance your branding and exposure to a target audience. You can collaborate just as you would putting together a webinar of experts, only using social media and a slightly different strategy.
Look to see who is garnering a lot of attention on the platforms in your niche. Find someone with slightly more of an audience than you have and come up with a way to cross-promote your accounts.
Day 23: Use New Features as They Become Available
One way to capture more attention on social media is to watch carefully for new features and jump on the trend before most others have had a chance. Whether it’s something like Reels on Instagram or video on Facebook, it helps to be one of the pioneers because you’ll show up when competitors aren’t.
Day 24: Highlight the Engagement of Your Fans
Followers often like to be acknowledged for their participation. If someone leaves a great comment, you can share it with your audience, thanking them or giving them credit.
This shows your appreciation and gives them a boost of confidence for sharing their ideas and feedback with you. TikTok makes this easy, too. You can respond to a comment using video, which automatically quotes their comment in your video and notifies the user of your reply.
Day 25: Spy on Competitors’ Social Activity
Social media is one area where you want to actively spy on the competition to see what they’re sharing there, how they’re sharing it, and how people are responding. You don’t want to be blind to what others in your niche are doing when something might help you generate better content that serves your audience well.
Day 26: Consider Using Paid Ads on Social Platforms
Most social media platforms have some form of paid advertisements you can invest in. Be careful not to ever spend more than you can afford. If you set a limit such as $100 a day, you can be sure the platform will find a way to spend your entire limit.
So even if you can only do $5 a day for 1-2 days, set the budget carefully. You can run ads and then see the analytics for how it performed with the audience that was shown the ads. This way, you can make improvements for next time.
Day 27: Get Good at Short Form Videos
Not all social content is lengthy. In fact, more and more people are preferring short-form videos over long ones. Tik Tok gives you 15 seconds, 60 seconds and 3 minute options. You want to practice getting better with less content, tightening up your message and cutting out excess fluff.
Even on YouTube, video channels have gone from hour long productions to 3-10 minutes for the best success. Succinct messages are something you have to learn to master.
Day 28: Implement a Social Customer Service Plan on Each Platform
Many consumers are not even bothering with phone calls, emails or contacts forms on a brand’s website. Instead, they head straight to social media to voice their concerns. You need to be ready for it.
Not only does that include addressing complaints strategically and professionally, but also making sure no one else (like a competitor) is intentionally trying to sabotage you on a social platform.
Day 29: Weed Out Imposter Accounts Whenever You Find Them
When a personal or brand becomes successful, it’s almost inevitable that someone else will create dummy accounts that try to impersonate them. The reasons vary from outright scams to a simple desire to get the same attention, but regardless, you need to be on the lookout for copycat accounts so you can have them shut down and alert your followers that you’re the real account.
Day 30: Branch Out on Newer Forms of Social Media
When you master the big platforms most used for branding and business, you’ll want to pay attention to other platforms you may not have initially set yourself up on, such as LinkedIn and SnapChat.
Also stay abreast of new types of social networking sites and apps growing in popularity, such as audio social sites like ClubHouse. You may get put on a waiting list for new platforms, but establishing your brand in the beginning can be a strategy that brings you much success.
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Fred “The Submarine Guy” Raley
Fred@SubmarineGuy.com
http://www.SeniorsAndRetirees.com
