 Welcome to the journey. Today we're going to talk about how to create a social media strategy for the new normal. If you're someone who takes pride in your online or social media presence, the past year has proven to be quite the challenge to navigate responsibly between a global health crisis, civil unrest, and a major US presidential election. When it comes to your posts, it can be hard to know what to do. But even with all that uncertainty, that doesn't mean that you need to create a social media strategy from scratch. It just means that we need to change how we approach it to be successful today, tomorrow and no matter what the future throws at us. So let's take a look at how this affects your content decisions and then some specific steps that you can take to make your social media marketing strategy implementations easier. Start with humanity. People are at the heart of every business. The people who built it, the people who run it, and the people who buy from it every day. In fact, every brand is a human brand whether we've been treating them as such or not. So when you're working to create your social media strategy, moving forward, consider what feels the most human. Even when we can't connect face to face, we turn to social media to help build connections. You can become human by embracing the less polished side of social media, including doing live videos from wherever you are, whether that's in your office, retail space or home. Next advice, be understanding. I mean, a key part of being human is handling all the emotions that come with it from sadness to anger to despondence and of course, joy, happiness and excitement. Not only accepting but embracing and supporting the range of emotions that your customers are feeling as you create a social media strategy will help you build stronger relationships with them in the short and long term. And you should have an artwork focus. The days of your social media messages focusing on what your business is all about are over. Starting day, your social posts should focus on your customers and your audience. Share their stories as well as the benefits of working with you and the benefits your customers will achieve. This is a great time to review and embrace your brand story and especially applying the lessons from building a story brand to ensure that your followers can see where they fit. I mean, all that sums down to is focus on how you help your audience and how you solve their problems. Yeah, which tees up the nice tip, add value. Adding value isn't about selling to add to your bottom line. As consumers, we go on social media for a couple reasons. Build relationships to learn and also be entertained, right? So as a business owner, we can add value to the platforms through the tone and content of our messages through how we create a social media strategy. And this could be as simple as explaining how to do something related to your industry. Information on resources helpful to your audience or sharing a list of local sites that offer COVID-19 testing. I know one of my favorite hobbies that I already had pre-COVID, but especially as Blossom is cooking. So I was watching this little local bakery on Instagram story going through the steps on how to bake something. And it just inspired me and it got me excited and it was educational and entertaining. And it really resonates to this day, that bakery that I watched back in April. Emma, I'm a little disappointed you haven't sent me any yet, but I'll move on with the video. So you want to focus on engagement. Your customers all have at least one thing in common. They all support your business. Though the types of posts that drive engagement and communication, you can help them connect with you and each other. It's all about community. And while you're maintaining brand awareness and engagement, sales will come naturally. We want to support the businesses that make us feel good. So also don't forget to customize your content. You're going to see a lot of generic advice out there, including the advice in this video about how to post on social media in the future. But to be really successful, you need to take the elements that work from that advice and customize it to your own brand as you work to create a social media strategy. So consider how you can build long lasting relationships with your customers. And also ask yourself, you know, what do they always ask you about? How can you change the way you serve them? In gyms, fitness instructors and maybe physical therapists can create at home routines to share along with virtual challenges to build and maintain in their communities. I know I follow a chiropractor on TikTok that shows me different ways I can stretch out my back from sitting in my chair all day. Now that I'm working from home and doing my side hustle from home, and it's helped out a ton, the possibilities are absolutely endless with a touch of creativity. And be sure to build collaborations. One of the best ways to expand your community is through partnerships. So you could work with individuals with complimentary businesses like a restaurant, especially spice shop. Also partners like artists teaching virtual classes with their art supply shops or galleries. And the thing I love about social media is you're not limited to the people in your own area. You can build collaborations with people in other states or other countries really all over the world, really find businesses and individuals who have brand messages that align with your brand so that both your audiences benefit. And listen, don't forget to listen. Social media is not just about broadcasting your messages, right? It's also a powerful listening tool to better understand what your customers and your community need. And no matter what type of business you're in, you'll be able to create a new product, new services and improve your existing lineup when you're actually engaging in the conversation rather than using your social feed as a megaphone. Yeah, that listening plays a huge role in the success of a business. And now another tip we have for you is just to be flexible. And I don't mean just flexible with your body, but flexible with your social media. The rules of engagement in our world are changing faster than ever before. Pay attention to changing signals, changing rules, and just changing norms in general. So even if you've got your social media scheduled out for the next several weeks, you'll need to be flexible in your approach and be willing to pause or just change directions if you need to and ultimately be human. And if you make a mistake, own up to it. Apologize and figure out how to do better. Yeah, and take a break when you need to. That's a good reminder. It's okay to take a breather from social media from time to time. I know I have done that with Instagram since well the past three months, but by using scheduling tools, you can make this seem almost seamless. You'll just need to check in regularly to address any comments or questions that you get. And you can also be transparent and let your followers know that, hey, I'm taking a break from social media and give them other channels to contact you. There are multiple platforms, right? And pausing certain channels is a great tactic to use if you've scaled back on staffing and don't have the resources to manage multiple platforms. That is fantastic. But where do you go from here? Well, start by evaluating how you've been doing with your social media so far and how you want to change, then clearly define your brand voice and map out your content calendar. And with those ingredients, you'll create a social media strategy that you can be proud of. All right, that's a wrap. You just learned how to create a social media strategy for the new normal. Be sure to comment below and also be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring that bell to be the first to know when we drop new episodes like this. This is the journey. We'll see you next time.