how to reset your social media strategy in 2022

What a rollercoaster the last twelve months have been for so many small businesses. We have seen so much change in the digital marketing world, and the impacts have come in all shapes and sizes.

Of course the more obvious one that comes to mind is “Covid” which defined 2020 and continues to be a huge hurdle for many small businesses, particularly in the hospitality and tourism space.

Earlier this year (2021) we saw the long-anticipated rollout of iOS 14 which changed how many small businesses define and measure “goals”.

Also, we’ve seen people shift away from the “safe” platforms and start exploring new / unchartered spaces to find communities.

On top of all this, we saw a massive influx of people starting new small eCommerce businesses, which has created more competition than ever before. New stores on Shopify grew by 71%!. This of course created new challenges for marketers as we seek to inspire, educate and convince our audiences.

We’re at a turning point which is demanding more social ‘savvy’ than ever. If you are feeling a bit anxious or unsure of what you should do next, here’s how to reset your strategy for 2022 and claw back those results.

Reacquaint yourself with your community

It’s easy to lose touch with what matters. Social is meant to be social, and yet over time, it’s easy to become more inward focussed rather than outward focussed. we start to talk more about ourselves, and less about our audiences.

As you grow and start to become busy, the tendency is to take the approach of “let’s just get it out there.” When in reality, it needs to be more “what can we do to bring our community closer to us.”

Yes, it takes time and effort to come up with content that your audience genuinely wants to hear.

So where do you start? Go back to the data. Analyse what has worked and what hasn’t to get an understanding of their interests and desires. Seek feedback! Ask questions. Run a survey. Host an event. Gather information that gives you insights into what matters to your community now.

When you’ve found this, you’ll be able to create a more compelling strategy for this new financial year.

Challenge your social content strategy

Ultimately the question you need to ask yourself is this: is your social content truly connecting with your audiences or are you just adding more noise?

When we review our client’s social strategies we look at a range of metrics such as Engagement, Direct Messages, Website Traffic, Bounce Rates and of course Conversions. Globally, these metrics create a picture of your content strategy’s success.

Once you’ve ascertained the effectiveness of your content strategy, you can then start to look at some ways to remedy the problems.

Where to start? One way you can make a BIG difference to your content is by drawing closer to your values and beliefs. Go back to the start of why you started your business and the problems that you are solving for your communities. And then give yourself a score for how effective you have been in communicating this through your socials. Be honest with yourself! If you’ve been steadily moving off course, it’s time to reign it in.

Review Your Budget.

If you’re like most small businesses, you’ve probably been spending up big on Facebook and Instagram. Which makes sense as they’re the two biggest channels. However, if iOS has taught us anything it’s that a diverse social strategy is a stronger strategy.

We suggest considering some of the other channels. We’re currently loving Pinterest, which we are finding super powerful for lifestyle brands who want to get discovered.

Businesses hoping to connect with a professional audience could consider LinkedIn which is also delivering some pretty exciting results when used to its full effect.

Increase Your Investment In Video Content

One very important content strategy is of course video content. Whether that’s produced by your business, or via content creators that you have partnered with, video is such a powerful way to inspire, educate and convince. Review how well your videos are playing a role at each stage of the customer journey and then challenge yourself to go further. Invest in creating videos that aren’t just good, they’re outstanding, and you’ll reap the benefits.

Consider also some of the ‘new’ video placement opportunities. We’re currently loving Reels as they offer extremely good organic reach and conversion results.

Set Goals and Know How To Track Them

One of the biggest challenges we face in a post iOS world is how we track our goals “outside of platform”. We all know that the privacy measures that Apple introduced earlier this year have had a huge impact on what we are able to report on (if you don’t you should check out our blog).

While the changes rolled out some time ago, many small businesses are yet to the take necessary steps to minimise the impact on business. If this is you, it’s important that you get across this now and look at other ways to track your e-commerce success.

Google Analytics is your new BFF. We recommend working with an expert who can help you set up Goal Tracking that gives you insights that will help you learn and plan forward.

Want some help with resetting your social strategy? Let’s chat!