A Social Media Marketing Checklist For Every Platform

Are you a business owner that wants to be on every social media platform, but you're not sure how to create a strategy, or moreover, you're not sure what you should be posting on each platform?  Yes, you could simply copy/paste a post onto every platform and you may get SOME results, but you definitely won't be getting the full reach and engagement on each platform you COULD get if instead, you had a great strategy.

Today, I want to help give you the information and application so that you can build out a social media marketing strategy for any and all social media platforms you'd like your business to be on.

Step #1 - Create A Social Media Marketing Plan

The first thing you're going to want to do (and this is with everything), is to make a plan.  Figure out what products and services you're selling then ask yourself, "What social media platforms would make sense for my business?"  I would argue that most businesses should be on EVERY platform, simply because I can say with a fair amount of certainty that you have clients on EVERY platform.

Now, the percentages might be different, meaning 60% of your audience is mainly on Instagram, while only 5% of your audience is on LinkedIn.  This is where you'll have to decide if you have the bandwidth and the capability to go after that 5%, or if you're going to strictly focus on the platforms that bring you the GREATEST ROI, then work your way up to having a presence on every platform.

That is a question only you can answer because I don't know your business and how big your team is.  If it's just you, I would focus on the 1-2 platforms that give you that greatest ROI, but if you have a full team, obviously you can look to expand everywhere.  So how do you know which platforms give you the greatest ROI?  You do your market research . . . which we're going to do right now.

The first question is: what's your main demographic?  If it's business professionals, then obviously LinkedIn would be a good place to look.  If your business is more of a creative one, then Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok would be great ones to look at.  The first thing you need to do is ask WHO is your ideal client and then figure out which platform(s) they spend the most time on.

Another great question is to ask what's the age range of your ideal client?  Let's say your target demographic is females over the age of 45 . . . if so, I'd say Facebook and Instagram would both be great places to start.  However, if you said that your demographic were ages 18-25, the first platform I'd recommend would be TikTok.  Hopefully, you're starting to see how to do this.

So many people want to skip the research part, pick a platform because they see someone say to, then get frustrated because they chose Instagram not doing the proper amount of research, realizing they could have gotten better results on Pinterest.  Remember this as well: the goal isn't followers, likes, etc.  The goal is to build a business, so don't get caught up in the vanity metrics that ARE social media.

Step #2 - What Kind Of Content Should I Create

Say you've done your market research and you now know what platforms your ideal clients and customers spend the most time on . . . what's the next step?  The next step would be to figure out exactly what kinds of content you need to be creating to get the best results on those platforms.  Obviously, short-form video is what's working on MOST platforms right now, but that doesn't mean it's the obvious choice or the ONLY type of content you should be creating.  Let's break down each platform and the types of content they want to see:

TikTok: short videos, ideally 7-18 seconds in length using trending concepts and sounds from your niche.  The more clips you can use the better, and make sure you're captioning your videos throughout with a strong call-to-action at the end.

Instagram: obviously Instagram is trying to compete . . . well let's just call it like it is . . . Instagram is trying to copy everything about TikTok so they can compete with them (not working), but that doesn't mean you should ONLY be posting Instagram reels.  Personally, I still think infographics and carousels are better ways to educate your audience.  Here's why: think about how many TikTok's and reels you see a day . . . how are you supposed to remember ANY information from them?  They're not very conducive to learning, whereas an infographic/carousel is much easier to gain information from.

Pinterest: like TikTok and Instagram, Pinterest is pushing their version of short-form video right now called, "Idea Pins," and they as of right now are the best way to get reach.  However, Pinterest is a VISUAL SEO platform, meaning you want to use pictures and words associated with what your niche and industry are.  Things like infographics, quotes, and still images get better reach here than they do on Instagram.  Idea Pins have very little SEO associated with them, and no captions, which is why you want to STILL make sure you're prioritizing still posts.

LinkedIn: this platform is the wildcard.  Short-form video most likely won't work here because it is more of a professional platform.  The only short-form video I'd recommend doing is if it's related to your industry, you're at a conference, etc.  What works the best on LinkedIn is written content, so think long-form captions, blogs, and industry updates that your audience might want to know about.

YouTube: while YouTube is making an attempt to push "shorts," their version of short-form video, they haven't really taken off yet.  Yes, you'll get thousands of views, but they rarely translate to subscribers.  The best way to grow a YouTube channel is the same way it's always been: create a highly clickable thumbnail and create a video that people want to watch.  Ideally, videos that do the best are between 8-13 minutes, but it just depends on your niche and the topic you're discussing.  Just make sure it's no fluff and straight to the point. 

Step #3 - How Do I Get The Best ROI On Each Platform

Now that you know the types of content that work best for each of the top 5 platforms . . . how to do you go about getting the best ROI out of each platform?  If we're talking about TikTok, then the answer is quantity.  If you want the best results and you want to grow the fastest on TikTok, then you'll post AT LEAST 4x a day.  I know it sounds crazy, but when Jill and I grew 100K in 30 days, we were posting 6x a day . . . SIX TIMES!  It sounds difficult, but once you get into the flow it's actually quite easy to do.

If you want to get the best ROI on Instagram, then posting as many reels as you can is the key to doing that.  If you really want to grow the fastest, you can post early audio trend alerts and transition tutorials, although I wouldn't recommend doing these.  I would just stick with trending sounds under 5K that you can relate to your industry.

If you're looking to get the best ROI on Pinterest, then posting at least one Idea Pin a day and 25-30 still posts a day is the best way to do it.  25-30 sounds like a lot, but 50% of those should be content you create, and 50% should be trending content you re-pin to your boards created by other people.  Using a scheduling tool like "Tailwind" can greatly help you with this.

As far as LinkedIn goes, posting less actually works better.  People on LinkedIn are typically professionals, so they're not spending the same amount of time on the app as say people are on TikTok and Instagram.  Posting 1-2 times a week is ideal and as I said before, the long-form written content is what will work the best.  If you have a blog, that's a great thing to share.  If there's an update in your industry you think people should know, even better!  Just make sure you keep it professional!

Lastly, YouTube really depends on what types of videos you're making.  We know creators that make videos every week, but we also know a few creators that make really great 30-60 minute videos once every month.  It really depends on your industry.  We create one video per week and a short one every day.  That's helped us monetize our YouTube channel in less than a year and has worked for us, but as I said, every industry/niche is different, so this is where I'd research your competitors, find out what they're doing and where they are having success.

Hopefully, this blog helps you decide what platforms your business needs to be on and how to take the proper steps to ensure you're maximizing your time and getting the best results possible.  If you have any questions or need help implementing any of the social strategies talked about here, you can always reach out to us on Instagram @michaelandjill and we'd be happy to help in any way that we can.

If you're feeling like you need some 1-1 time and someone to audit your social media marketing, then click HERE and book a FREE call with us.  We'd be happy to audit your social media accounts and give you actionable steps going forward on how you can improve!