The theory is all good and well and we could talk about the keys to social media success until we were blue in the face.
But that is very different from practice.

That is very different from taking the concepts and using them to build a successful brand and then build a large, targeted audience.

And so with that in mind, let’s go through a hypothetical social media campaign for a new brand. You’ve bought the site; now it’s time to get the word out.

Step 1

Step one must be to create a brand. That means coming up with a logo, yes, but more important than that is to come up with the right mission statement and the right goals. In other words, what is your website and your brand about?

Who is it for? What do you stand for?

This is very important because your brand should speak specifically to a particular kind of person. If it does not, then you won’t be able to attract their attention the way that you should, and you won’t be able to build true fans and loyal, engaged followers.

Of course, this also means building a website that reflects that brand.

Step 2

Step 2 is to do some research online. Check out your competition, see where they’re posting, see what people are asking for in your niche, see where there are gaps and opportunities. Why is this step 2 and not step 1? Because you shouldn’t make a brand because you think there’s a business opportunity – you should make one that matters to you and that you’re passionate about.

Step 3

Step 3 is to choose which platforms you’re going to be present on. You want to be on as many as possible, but at the same time, you need to be realistic about the amount of time or energy that you can commit to this.

Choose one platform to be your ‘primary platform’ and at least two more to back that up. Then use your branding across all of these and be consistent.

Step 4

Step 4, finally, is to post your content regularly and to make sure it provides real value. To do this, it must be unique and original, and it must be well written. Do all that and you’ll be on to a winner!

But it’s a lot harder than it sounds…