So you’ve landed your first social media marketing gig, but you don’t know how to start strategizing for your company’s professional social media pages. I once thought that being young automatically made me an expert on social media, but there were a few things on the marketing end that I had to figure out before I really felt comfortable with my role. Here’s my top five things to know (or find out from your employer) that will help you get your bearings in the world of social media marketing.

Know your target audience

Audience analysis is vital - and your company has probably already done it. Figure out what demographic you are trying to reach and create content that will appeal to it. If your company already has social media set up, check out the insights page and see who their content is reaching. If it doesn’t look like the company’s buyer persona, experiment with tone to try to reach the right people.

Know your goals for social media marketing

Why is your company using social media to market? Do they want to spread brand awareness, give information, or drive traffic to the company’s website? Your marketing strategy and the tools you use will look different depending on the goals of the company.

Know where to find your target audience

Don’t just assume Tiktok and Instagram are for young people, Facebook is for boomers, and LinkedIn is for professionals. You might be surprised where you reach your target audience. Test-drive a number of platforms and evaluate where you have the most success a few months into your Pangea.app gig.

Know if you want to post manually or use an automation tool

The allure of automation tools like Hootsuite and Sprout Social are hard to ignore, but there are a number of roadblocks you’ll encounter before you can successfully harness their power. Each social media platform calls for a different strategy, so cross-posting with automation tools can actually hurt more than it helps. In my experience, I prefer a good ole’ Excel spreadsheet for scheduling my content calendar a month in advance and posting manually everyday. It’s not as laborious as you would expect.

Know where your graphics will come from

Videos and images are vital to increasing engagement, but you need to build a content library along with your calendar, so you’re not scrambling day-of to find a graphic. If you’re responsible for creating graphics and videos, I recommend Canva and Vyond respectively, and if you’re using photography on your pages, make sure you have access to all of the images you will need one month in advance.