And just like that, 2020 is over. I am sure all of us would agree that this year has been crazy with the things happening around us. But instead of moping around and waiting for the year to end, why not strategize and set up new goals for 2021? If you’ve wanted to start your own business or your personal brand on Instagram, here are some of the basic steps you have to consider in order to plan your strategy. 

 

 

1. START WITH YOUR GOALS

 

One thing to consider in starting up with your goals is to establish how this year went. What are the hits and misses? Starting with the basics will help you formulate a plan on how to strategize your goals next year. You would need to clearly identify what you want and where you want to be in the coming years. If you’re tapping into your goals, be sure to create Plan A and Plan B, just in case the first one did not work out. 

 

A few questions that need to be addressed are the following:

 

• What are your specific goals for the following year? 
• Is there a specific service you want to increase your sales for?
• Is there a specific target customer?
• Are you launching a new product?

 

Make sure the goals you set are SMART: 

 

S-pecific

M-easurable

A-ttainable

R-elevant 

T-imely

In a nutshell, we need to clearly identify your goals before we can lay out a plan that’s going to get results. 

2. GET TO KNOW YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

 

Getting to know your ideal customers can give you an understanding of their behaviors. Also, creating a measurable and intentional marketing plan lets you identify your target customers. As many companies try to be everything to everyone, we encourage you to categorize them into groups based on the customer type you have. By identifying them, you can now dig deeper into their profiles. You can review your target audience and do your research on what actually resonates with them.

 

It’s also good to take into consideration how to go about knowing who your customers are. In assessing your current clients, it gives you an idea and understanding these individuals. 

 

Having a target client in mind with the knowledge and understanding of how they behave, think, feel and make decisions, you can create an excellent strategy that focuses on them all the time.

 

3. SETTING UP THE RIGHT BUDGET

Now that we have done our research, it’s time to set up the right budget for your clients. While this can be a struggle for all of us, keep in mind that there is no perfect formula that can be used. 

 

If the budget is tight, we recommend that you start running a few tests to see which social media platforms are the best for your business. All efforts can be put to waste if you don’t factor in your budget. 

 

One thing to keep in mind is to narrow down what’s important and to work around them by formulating tactics that will be in line with your business and budget.  

4. PLAN, BUT BE FLEXIBLE

 

When setting up a plan for your marketing strategy, it’s good to make it a habit to plan for the whole year and cut it into segments. As we have mentioned, this makes the plan more feasible and flexible. Plus, you will be able to keep track of your progress along the way.

 

Identifying the campaigns that will be put into place, the platforms it will be distributed on, plus the deadline per segment is the most effective way in handling the marketing plan that you have set up.

 

It also is important to be flexible with the plan that you have set out. One perfect example is this pandemic. I’m sure all of us would agree that the strategy we have put in place went out the window and we needed to create a new plan which may or may not work. By planning ahead, there will just be minimal adjustments. 

 

5. MAP OUT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

Writing out what your plan makes your plan easier to track. By mapping out your plans for each month, it will be easier for you to see which activities you need to do next and also, keep track of your progress. You can also make a few tweaks along the way as you deem fit. 

 

This will also make you realize how many activities you’re committing yourself to on a monthly basis. 

 

It’s also important to review your progress as you go along. This will help immensely in fine-tuning your approach to making sure you’re on the right track. 

6. DO NOT IGNORE INFLUENCER MARKETING

 

While Influencer Marketing is a fairly new trend, this can be a very effective strategy to use especially for startups. Thanks to the rise of the digital age, we have seen the rise of micro-influencers that anyone can partner with for a minimal amount. 

 

Influencer Marketing can give you an excellent return on investment however, you would need to make sure you are working for the right influencer – whether it be a celebrity or an agency. Check their engagement strategy just to be sure you’re not wasting away your money.

7. REVIEW YOUR ANALYTICS AND TACTICS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS

 

One way of checking the status of your campaign is by reviewing your numbers. You have to make sure you include regularly reviewing available data in your marketing strategy. This will provide a much better direction and see the big picture. 

 

Specific areas to look at is if the audience is responding to the content if they’re engaging with the information you placed out there. Since the whole point of doing analytics is to connect to people, you can check on their reactions, comments, shares, clicks, and the amount of time they spend on your page. 

In conclusion, setting up your marketing strategy can be a walk in the park once you have a guided approach on how to run it successfully. Just make sure your goals are set and you’re good to go.

 

 

Hire a Digital Marketing Agency to Gain Real Followers on Instagram

At Social Sensei, we team up with big names in different industries to help businesses gain Instagram followers organically. We’ve worked with hundreds of happy clients and have generated thousands of new followers for those who have signed up with us.   Won’t celebrity Instagram marketing get your account banned on Instagram? No. Celebrity Instagram marketing is a legitimate way for you to gain Instagram followers organically, so you don’t have to worry about getting shadowbanned or action blocked on the platform. We guarantee account safety, so you never have to worry about your Instagram account being banned or action blocked.  The best part?  Your success is our success, so if you don’t see the numbers you expect for your followers list, we will continue working for you until you do. Also, check these articles out for more ideas on how to grow your Instagram account.

• 16 Social Media Strategies for Your Content
• 20+ FREE Resources for Your IG Social Media Strategy
• 27 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Followers Organically

Ready to take your Instagram account to the next level?  Work with the experts at Social Sensei to help pair your business with the right growth plan to help you gain real Instagram followers, increase brand exposure, and boost your credibility.  Dial 888-444-9144 to talk to one of our experts today or click here to schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation with us.