Social media can be a tough nut to crack. The rules, opportunities, audiences, and value propositions vary greatly from one channel to another – and can shift gears without notice.

The one thing to conquer those #socialmedia concerns is a channel plan – an advanced directive for how your brand manages its #content on these evolving platforms. It also spells out what you should (and shouldn’t) expect to achieve.

Many brands mistakenly assume they must DISTRIBUTE CONTENT anywhere and everywhere to maximize its reach. But plastering your brand’s content across every #socialnetwork, trendy news site, and video platform is not a channel plan. It holds no regard for whom it reaches, how they might be impacted, or how that impact might reflect on the business.

The channel-planning process involves three steps: (1) understanding the platform’s value proposition, (2) creating your brand’s use case for engagement, and (3) ensuring everyone on your team works from the same set of guidelines. Let’s look closer at each one.

each channel and its core community’s engagement preferences play major roles in deciding if your content is a good fit. your audience might be open to connecting with your brand in a twitter chat but reserves snapchat for personal conversations. authoritative long-form content might play well on linkedin or medium, while memes, mash-ups, and captioned photos are more appropriate for platforms like instagram.

it’s important to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of each channel and its corresponding community before joining the conversation.

with a short list of potential channels in hand, map existing content assets to their most appropriate distribution channels. remember to consider the #content experiences audiences expect, determine if you have the resources to meet those expectations, and evaluate the potential to deliver meaningful business results with your efforts.

who uses this channel and what are they using it for?

will it help us meet our objectives?

what results do we want to achieve?

what kinds of content work best on this platform?

while your company’s goals are important, you also need to establish the right tone, the right topics, and the right conversations to ensure the #content delivers the experience your audiences want.

no matter how far and wide your business intends to extend its reach, successful #content marketing distribution often comes down to having a strategic, systematic, and scalable approach. this model ensures that everyone works from the same social media blueprint, but it’s not the only way to get the job done.

#advertising #digital #entrepreneur #contentmarketing #marketingstrategy #digitalmarketingagency #marketingtips #follow #smallbusiness #design #bhfyp #love #webdesign #like #photography #graphicdesign #content #art #fashion #bhfyp