The Importance of Social Media Strategy
Post, like, share.
It’s important to have a boutique fitness studio business plan for many areas of your business. You start with a fitness studio business plan, build-out a cohesive marketing and advertising strategy and lean to organic methods for additional lead generation. But what about your social media strategy? Are you just posting as you go?
We turned to our own Social Media and Marketing Manager, Skandia Shafer for her insight and opinion on the value of a social media strategy. With a background in marketing, branding and hospitality, Skandia’s social media marketing experience is informed by principles that drive growth and build brand equity. With over a decade of experience in the social media management and content creation space, Skandia creates engaging content that is both thoughtful and innovative.
Q: Why should a business have a specific social media strategy? What’s the problem with just posting when they find things interesting/on a whim?
A: Having a strategy in place will allow you to work towards your overarching business goals, ultimately driving the content you choose.
Every piece of content you choose should reflect your company’s mission and vision, promoting brand equity and awareness. A strategy and a schedule will allow you to stay on course, meet your goals and provide your clients with consistency.
Q: What does a successful social media strategy include?
A: A good social media strategy includes content pillars, which will allow for a diversity of content, unique storytelling and feed integrity. Content pillars ensure your content is relevant, cohesive and consistent. Without them it’s easy to lose focus which can confuse your company’s mission.
Q: How detailed should one be, i.e. types of posts, dates, etc?
A: Give this a lot of thought. In addition to content pillars (the subject of your content) there are different content types (static image, reel, carousel, graphic). Not everyone is going to connect with every type of content you put out there. Some prefer reels, some static images. The more variety you provide, the more chances of increasing engagement. A schedule will also help you make sure you’re posting at the right time. So again, the more detailed you can be with your strategy, the better.
Q: When mapping out social media strategy how does one go about creating content pillars unique to their business?
A: There are a host of content pillars which can be tailored to your specific business’s needs. For example, there are education posts, lifestyle posts, community posts, and on and on. Think of what’s important to your company vision and then work backwards. If you’re in the wellness space you may want to make self-care or mental health a content pillar. If you run a yoga studio, educational posts may help increase your followers' understanding of the practice.
Q: What type of time frame should a business expect before they see results, and what would "growth" look like? What kind of metrics?
A: There is no one size fits all for social media growth. But if you’re following a cohesive strategy and creating killer content you may start to notice more engagement right away. Steer clear of favoring vanity metrics, like follower count. The important metrics are engagement and reach. These tell you how many people are viewing and interacting with your content. The ultimate engagement is shares and saves. You may not notice these right away, but if you get there, you’ve made it.
Q: Anything else you'd want to add?
A: Be patient. You may have to adjust your strategy and that’s ok. Social media is a long game, so don’t be defeated if you don’t go viral with your first reel.
To gain insight into your own social media channels, book a free intro call with Telomere. Our services include social media audit, social media planning and strategy and full social media management.
Telomere Consulting provides business consulting and marketing services to studio owners in the boutique fitness and yoga space. The Telomere team helps you navigate business strategy from conception to implementation. We provide end-to-end marketing support and would love to hear from you. Click here to book your free intro call. We want you to treat your business the way you treat your body – making the right choices now to optimize its potential for a long and healthy life. Visit us here to learn more.
