Ready or not, it’s here! It’s 2020 and social media marketing is changing daily. So it’s time to really put some thought into your 2020 social strategy.

• What sort of audience are you going to target? 
• How are you going to increase your engagement with your content? 
• Overall, how are you going to leverage your social channels to increase conversions and drive revenue? 

These are all questions that need answers if you are planning on implementing a social strategy this year. And if you aren’t giving your social marketing any thought, consider this: There are over 2.8 billion people using Facebook and Instagram daily! That’s a huge number and it’s growing. Even the smallest campaigns with little to no budget get results because the audience base is so massive. Furthermore, the amount of data that can be utilized for targeting is the best we’ve seen in the marketing world to date.

So if you’re wondering where to start, or maybe you want to improve your existing social marketing plan, here are some things to start you on the right path.

Create A Target Audience

Many businesses have an idea of who they would “like” to see engage with their ads but most don’t really know exactly who, based on the data, will convert. This is why creating a unique and targeted audience is crucial for your social channels. You need to know who is converting and what type of content is going to get them engaged with your brand and you find this by looking at the data. What data you might ask? A great place to start would be Google Analytics! 

Look to see who is converting on your website and go after that audience group. Sounds simple right, but connecting the dots can be a little harder than it seems. First you need to understand demographic information about your audience. How old are they? Is it mostly female or male or a mix? What income level are they in? Where do they live? Then you can begin to fill in gaps with psycographicall information. What websites do they visit? What are they interested in? Why do they come vacation to your local area? 

All this information helps you build a persona of the perfect consumer that you know is most likely to convert and that’s the audience you want to go after on your social channels.

Invest In Your Content

Content is the lifeblood of your channels and should be treated like gold. If you don’t already have a content strategy then you need one because without content, your social channels would be dead in the water. How do you determine what content to promote or use? Start looking at what your audience engages with. If your audience doesn’t engage a whole lot with pictures or rental properties, then why would you promote content like that? Remember, the whole point of your social channels is to engage with your audience, not sell to them. If your goal is to make a sale, then your going to fail. 

It’s Time To Go LIVE

LIVE video on Facebook is something every social channel should incorporate! It not only shows that there are real humans behind your brand image but it’s also extremely engaging.

There are two excuses people make to NOT do LIVE video: 1) I don’t have enough time, or 2) I’m just not comfortable being on camera. However, most vacation rental managers live where they work so it would be pretty easy to grab a quick video of your local area because… you’re always there! Also, being on camera can be slightly stressful but it’s just another way you can interact with people that already love your brand. And showing that there are real people behind a brand image is invaluable. 

Start Running Social Ads (And Start With Facebook)

We don’t mean boost a post every once in a while. We are talking about creating social ad campaigns with a target audience and a specific conversion. The difference is, when you boost a post, you are basically just boosting a piece of content. With targeted paid ads you are actually creating an advertisement with a specific conversion in mind. Whether that’s traffic to your website, or more page fans. Point being, boosting posts and actual paid ads are completely different. 

Helpful tip: If you are unsure of what ad copy or images to use in your next campaign on Facebook, try implementing a Dynamic Creative Ad Set. This allows you to A/B test tons of different variables all in the same ad set and gives you great reporting around the results. 

Overall, a social strategy needs to be a big part of your 2020 marketing plan and if you aren’t sure where to start, give us a call. With so many people on social media it’s very hard NOT to make a connection.