Social media is a vital part of many brands’ marketing strategies. Why? Because it is where people pay attention to new trends. We are no longer questioning if social media is important to marketing, but many people have not figured out how to leverage this powerful set of tools. 

In this article, I will make three suggestions for how to use social media effectively.

Create Your Own Content Calendar

The worst thing you can do is whatever everyone else seems to be doing. Humans have an innate tendency to copy what seems to be working, and in many cases, this might work well enough. It is not a good way to differentiate your brand, however. To stand out from the crowd, you need to do something different, but it can’t be different just for its own sake. Your differences should be relevant to your business.

The best way to do this is to plan out your content in advance. Creating a content calendar will give your media organization and meaning. Make a list of messages that you want to reach your audience. Prioritize that list by moving the topics most relevant to your business goals to the top. This brainstorming and organizational process will help you to blueprint a plan for marketing success.

Stick to Your Guns

Once you have committed to an editorial plan, it is time to execute. One place that people lose the plot is in tracking every metric all the time. Obsessing about numbers and performance on social media is instinctual, but it will drain all your time and mental energy. Instead, set times to review your performance.

It is very difficult to do new things on social media. Literally billions of people are attempting to rack up the views and likes every day. In this cultural environment the ecosystem runs on attention. Where you put your energy is going to determine the success of your efforts. If you spend too much time monitoring the results of your posts and comparing them to other brands, then you will lose precious mental focus that should be spent developing the next set of themes.

The hardest thing about social media marketing is the fact that it is constantly on view. People can and will continually judge your efforts and it is hard to resist wasting your time trying to justify your results. That is a trap. Instead, you need to develop the discipline to follow your plan and stand behind your content.

Prioritize the Written Word

One of the easiest ways to stand out in our current social media landscape is with good writing. This extends beyond the copy that you choose for your captions. It is the essence of your marketing plan. Writing out what you intend to do with your marketing focuses and organizes your efforts. 

Starting with a blog is generally a great idea. Writing an article about some aspect of your business is going to help you to tap into the deeper and more substantial reasons why people should want to use your services. With a more thorough understanding of the subject, each piece of your content will connect and illuminate others. 

The experience of scrolling through social media is random and wild. The algorithm feeds you what it thinks you will like, and that can be so many things all at once. To fight through this confusing cloud of desire and fear you must have a strong and consistent message to deliver. By writing out your message, by creating a solid core of meaning, you empower your content to become resistant to the chaos of everyday media trends.