The Difference between a Social Media Strategy and a Social Media Plan
A social media strategy looks at the long term. It’s usually applicable for at least a year and defines the general direction of everything you do related to social media. What it doesn’t do, however, is cover aspects such as campaigns, important changes to your products or service, projects you want to divulge online, or ongoing events affecting your business. Here, a strategy is not specific enough, and this is where a social media plan can come to your rescue. A social media plan has a clear-cut beginning and end, and specifically deals with a single campaign or event. Think of it as the specific detailing of your wider social media strategy. You have to consider the two as intertwined: your mission, vision and core values must be reflected in everything. Getting a social media plan down on paper only needs a few short steps.
1. Start Your Social Media Plan with an Objective A social media plan is subject to the same rule as a strategy: it must contain a clear objective. The difference with the objectives in your social media strategy is that the objectives of your plan concentrate on the short term. Consider the following objective, for example:
‘Website traffic to product page X must increase by 30% during the duration of the campaign from January 1 to January 31, 2019, compared to the same period last year.’
The SMART objective has been well formulated: specific, measurable, acceptable, realistic and time-bound. The rest of your social media plan must therefore help you achieve this objective. Once you’ve established your objective, don't forget to define some social media KPIs which will help measure the extent of your success.
2. Decide the Message of Your Story It’s important that the message of your social media plan hits the sweet spot between what your target audience wants to hear and what you as an organization have to say. Bear in mind the challenges and needs of your target group, and look for openings which allow you to get a toehold with your social media plan. Try to summarize the story of your campaign/event/plan in a single sentence.
3. Define a Clear Target Group Hopefully you’ve already defined a target group in your social media strategy. This target audience can often be divided into various buyer personas. A health insurer, for example, distinguishes between age categories or where people live, while a bank can target either the consumer market or the business market. It’s unlikely that your social media plan is designed to appeal to your entire target audience, as your specific message won’t be relevant to everybody in it. The best approach is to select a specific subsection of your target group, and concentrate your efforts there.
4. Make a Schedule for Your Social Media Plan
A social media plan is called a plan for good reason: its implementation has to be planned carefully. Sketch a timeline for yourself as a guide, with the beginning and end of your plan and a schedule of what exactly you will do and when. Make sure it’s really useful by defining who’s going to do what. Before you know it, you’ll have a proper action list.
5. Evaluate the Interim and Final Results Obviously, your social media plan has to include an evaluation at some point. The implementation period is relatively short, which makes it all the more important to measure interim results. Take a close look at all your social media interventions: has content design X delivered the desired result? What do those results mean in terms of the objective formulated in step 1? Do you have to go an extra mile? Is your target group engaging with your message? Constantly ask yourself these questions so you can change course and make rapid changes where necessary. Make sure you remain flexible, and don't spend too much time making plans. After all, a social media plan is a good start, but the real key to success is putting it into practice properly.
Whereas social media has become a filter on reality over the past years, TikTok brings back a sense of authenticity to the social media landscape. TikTok is an endless source of catchy video content, bringing us one step closer to reality. The content on this platform can be described as raw, real and realistic. Spending hours editing to create the perfect video? Forget it, TikTok fans would much rather take a peek into your reality.
Another thing that makes the social media platform so popular: the user is in control of which content returns to the FYP page more often. TikTok's algorithm determines based on the viewing time per video which content is liked and which is not. Based on that, TikTok then shows similar content. For hours, users scroll through the endless stream of videos they find interesting. And therein lies the secret behind TikTok's success: it is incredibly addictive. As an organisation, this is the perfect opportunity to reach a large audience.
X is the perfect social media platform for quick updates and news articles. This social media channel is the online spot to create a large reach: if you manage to create a domino effect with your content, then X is the opportunity to make world news. So, on this social media channel, the general advice is to post right away on X.
But not every post on X is as time-bound as just mentioned. Are you aiming for specific results, such as more engagement or conversions? Then you'll find the perfect moments here to achieve those goals. That's why we delved into the numbers and researched the ideal times for maximum results for each of those goals.
The best times for more reach on X
Best day to post on X Monday
Peak times for more reach on X
Monday at 16:00
Tuesday at 10:00
Saturday at 12:00 and 16:00
For X, we see a gradual decline in reach as the week progresses. Our tip: post at the beginning of the week if you want to create a large reach with your post.
Do you want to post on a different day? Peak times on X occur around lunchtime (1:00 PM) and at the end of the afternoon (5:00 PM).
When we zoom in further, we see that Monday at 4:00 PM is the best time to post. We also see more activity on Tuesday morning and Saturday afternoon.
The best times for more engagement on X
Best day to post on X Monday
Peak times for more engagement on X
Monday at 16:00 and 19:00
Tuesday at 10:00
Wednesday at 12:00
The same applies to more engagement on X: post at the beginning of the week. Monday stands out in particular. Additionally, noon is the absolute peak moment during the week, along with 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
The best times for more conversions on X
Best days to post on X Monday
Peak times for more conversions on X
Monday at 6:00 PM
Thursday at 9:00 PM
Friday at 10:00 AM
It's hardly a surprise anymore. Even if you want to maximize the number of conversions, a post on Monday yields the most results.
When we look at the number of clicks per hour, the distribution is fairly even throughout the day, with a slight peak at 9:00 PM.
The best times to post for every platform
Are you curious about the best times for other social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn? You'll find them in this overview.
Do you always want to post directly at the best time? With Coosto's Prime Time, you can post with one click at the best moment for your account, your industry, or the platform in general. Based on previous posts, this handy feature calculates which times yield the most results.
The success of a social media post always depends on multiple factors. Of course, content plays a crucial role: does the content align with the interests, needs, and questions of your target audience? That is the ultimate key to optimal social media performance. In addition, we always remain dependent on the Instagram algorithm, which changes periodically and influences your content's performance.
But there's another important factor: the timing of Instagram posts. If you want to achieve results, choose the optimal times to reach your followers. These ideal times depend on when your target audience is online because that's when you'll achieve more results on social media. A detail that can truly make a difference.
To delve deeper into the behavior of Instagram users, we researched the best times for both increased reach and engagement. Additionally, we further examine the best times for Reels and carousel posts.
Best times to post on Instagram for reach
Best day to post for increased reach on Instagram: Monday and Wednesday
Peak times for reach on Instagram: Monday at 1 PM Wednesday at 9 AM Friday at 1 PM
With a slight edge over the other days, Monday and Wednesday stand out the most. Additionally, there are some general peak moments throughout the days: on Monday and Friday, in the early afternoon, and on Wednesday morning.
Despite the close figures, it pays off on Instagram to post on weekdays during office hours. However, don't hesitate to post at other times, as you can still achieve great results for your reach on Instagram.
Best times to post on Instagram for engagement
Best day to post for increased engagement on Instagram: Thursday
Peak times for engagement on Instagram: Sunday at 1 PM Wednesday at 8 PM Thursday at 4 PM
Thursday is the ideal day if you want to achieve as many likes, comments, and shares as possible with your Instagram posts. Additionally, Sunday and Wednesday are also good days for more engagement.
Regarding the time, 5 PM stands out significantly when looking at the general times. If you want to capture the real peak moments for more interaction with your followers, Sunday afternoon, Wednesday evening, and Thursday afternoon are the best moments.
Best times to post on Instagram for Reels
Best day for more reach with Instagram Reels Tuesday and Wednesday
Peak hours for more reach with Instagram Reels 6 and 8 pm
Best day for more engagement with Instagram Reels Monday and Tuesday
Peak hours for more reach with Instagram Reels 3, 6 and 8 pm
Best times to post on Instagram for carousel posts
Best day for more reach with Instagram carousels Wednesday
Peak times for more reach with Instagram carousels 9 AM and 5 PM
Best day for more engagement with Instagram carousels Thursday
Peak times for more engagement with Instagram carousels 5 PM
The best times for your Instagram account
The above-mentioned times are based on the overall performance of Instagram posts and thus provide a good guideline for your social media planning. To achieve even better results on Instagram through proper timing, it is valuable to zoom in further, for example, into your industry, or even better: the performance of your business account.
This can be done with Coosto's Prime Time. This handy feature delves deeper into these times and analyzes real-time all social media performances for the best suggestions. With just one click, you can then select the best time to post on your Instagram account.
Curious about the best times to post on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Pinterest? Check them out here!
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