How to Elevate Your Social Media Game

By Bella Backwell

Having a social media presence, and a good one at that, is crucial for brand success. It’s one of the most effective ways for businesses to reach their audience. In fact, Statistica reported that, as of January 2024, there were 56.2 million social media users in the UK alone, with this group making up 82.8 percent of the UK population.

It’s no secret that developing and implementing a solid social media strategy is important to increase brand visibility and drive customer conversions. But how can brands actually nail their social media marketing? 

Here are a few key considerations to help businesses optimise their social media strategy.

 

1. Know Your Audience 

This is the first step to upping your social media game, as it forms the foundation of the social media strategy. Knowing your audience inside and out allows you to tailor your content to their interests and values, vastly increasing the chances that this content will resonate with them. 

It’s also important to meet your audience where they are, so knowing the platforms they spend the most time on, and what content they’re typically consuming, helps to inform what you should be prioritising in your strategy. 

 

2. Set Measurable Goals

Setting out your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) early on is essential for a successful social media strategy. Your goals will help to inform your strategy and where you’re going to focus your efforts – whether that’s growing followers or increasing engagement. Having these clearly laid out will also help you track your results better, and optimise and improve your future content.

 

3. Create a Clear Content Strategy 

A content strategy is key for social media success, and this should be as detailed as possible. Your strategy should include elements like overarching goals and objectives, KPIs, a roadmap, and a content calendar. 

A content calendar is particularly helpful as it allows you to maintain a regular posting schedule, ensuring content doesn’t drop off and take the audience’s engagement along with it. 

Reem Shukla, our Tug Agency TikTok ambassador, believes that consistency is key for brands wanting to level up on social media. 

“Consistency is crucial and will take your brand a long way. Don’t forget every post is another opportunity to connect and grow your audience,” she says.

 

4. Stay on Top of Trends

While it may feel like there’s a new trend every day, it’s important to stay up to date with what’s going on in the world of social media. Finding a current trend and making relevant content that fits into this rhetoric (granted it aligns with your brand message) can help to increase visibility, as this is the type of content users are engaging with at the moment. 

Getting involved with trends can also do wonders for brand image, as it helps to position you as relevant, particularly among younger audiences. 

Reem sets out best practices for balancing trending posts, while ensuring content is engaging and relevant to your audience:  

• Grow: Learn your insights – Finding your unique brand voice while staying on top of trends is essential, but the real magic happens when you blend that with insights from your platform. These insights help you understand your audience and what type of content they engage with the most. Check them regularly to help you significantly enhance your social media strategy and engagement.
• Connect: Keep your audience engaged – The biggest rule of thumb is to stay active on the platform. According to the 2023 Sprout Social Index, 51% of respondents said the most memorable brands on social media respond to customers.

 

5. Incorporate Paid Social Advertising

So, you’re posting engaging, relevant and shareable content, including brand-related takes on current trends. But how do we ensure that this is reaching the audience you want it to? 

At Tug Agency, we work with brands to level-up their social media game by harnessing the power of paid social. 

“By combining a strategic paid media plan with your organic social efforts, you can enhance your social presence and drive scalable business growth,” says our Senior Paid Media Account Executive, Rhian Biggs.

“Leveraging advanced machine learning capabilities in paid media and optimising data feedback in platforms ensures effective targeting of valuable audiences beyond your organic followers.”

The world of social media can sometimes feel like an oversaturated market, which is why it’s so important to make your content stand out amidst the noise. 

Setting out clear goals and KPIs, developing a comprehensive strategy, tapping into trends, and boosting posts with paid social can help ensure your content is still reaching high-potential audiences in this crowded space.