Consumers want to connect with your business in multiple ways, especially through social media. They want to have a chance to interact with you and have input. More than 90% of American millennials use social media regularly, followed by an average of 77.5% of Gen Xers. This means by advertising on social media, you have a better chance of reaching those with a lot of spending power. Are you struggling to integrate social media into your campaigns? Try out some of these tips. 

Create a plan that will give you a solid idea of how you will use your social media and how you can integrate your posts into existing campaigns. Not only do you need to know how often you will post, including what days and times you will post, you should also carefully consider what types of content you will publish. You want your social strategy to maintain your brand identity and voice just as much as your other advertising efforts. 

As you design your social media strategy, consider how you will optimize your existing creative to fit on social media. For example, start by testing video content on social media before you turn it into a television ad, or you might want to use your existing images, including infographics, as part of your social campaign. This is cost-effective and helps with brand recognition and awareness too.

Choose Your Platforms

What platforms does your target audience use most often? While most millennials, for example, use Facebook, members of Gen Z are found more often on Instagram and Snapchat. A solid understanding of the platforms your users prefer can help you create a more effective social plan. Carefully consider where you can find your target audience when deciding which platforms to focus your efforts on. Some platforms naturally offer a higher return on investment than others, especially if you consider where you can find your target audience and how that has the potential to impact your brand. 

However, you do not want to choose too many platforms. Many businesses spread themselves too thin by trying to utilize every available social media platform. Ultimately, you may see better results by focusing on a handful of platforms to the best of your ability, rather than spreading that same focus between a wide range of them. 

Build a Content Calendar

Carefully consider what you want to post and when you want to post it. Start by examining your existing materials and carefully considering how much content you need to build. Make sure that all of your content is consistent. Consumers want to know what they can expect from your business and how often you will put out something new. Your content calendar helps maintain that consistency. As you're developing your content calendar, consider:

• When is your target audience most often online? For example, if you're marketing to young parents, you may not want to put up new content during dinner and bedtime, when they're least likely to be present to see it. 
• What days are best for you to post?
• How many times a day should you post in order to achieve maximum results from each one? You may need to test consumers' responses to your posts to see how often you should put out new content. 

Ideally, your social media strategy should correlate with your current marketing schedule. If you release new content on your website or have a new television commercial come out, you want to tie in a social media post that draws attention to it and reinforces consumer interest. 

Keep holidays, promotions, and other important dates in mind as you construct your content calendar. Consider pushing out special information for those times and be prepared ahead of time for how you will acknowledge them on social media.

Create Your Content In Advance

If you wait until the last minute to create your content, you will often find yourself scrambling to pull things together at the last minute. You might also end up pushing out lower-quality content or content with errors. By creating your content in advance and adhering to a calendar, you'll have the assurance that it's ready for posting, including proper formatting. 

You can also repurpose your other marketing creative for social media. You want consumers to have a consistent experience with your brand no matter how they connect with you, and repurposing that content can help keep your brand current. In addition to that consistency, repurposing content is great for saving time and money. This will help you fill your content calendar adequately to ensure maximum exposure and engagement. 

Social media is an incredibly important part of your overall marketing strategy. Social media helps to expand your reach and allow you to get immediate feedback from consumers. By following these strategies, you integrate social tactics into your current campaigns for maximum marketing ROI.