Author: Megha Mehta

Managing social media without a plan often feels like you’re wandering around lost! Between all the different platforms, content types, and metrics dashboards, it gets overwhelmingly fast.

But having a strategic roadmap tailored to your brand makes all the difference. It gives you clarity on who you want to reach, what content will interest them, and how to track whether your efforts are actually working.

In this article, we’ll give you a step-by-step blueprint to craft just such a social media marketing strategy. We designed it for real people managing brands and business pages — not fancy agencies!

What is a Social Media Marketing Strategy?

A social media marketing strategy is a detailed plan that outlines how a brand will achieve its social media goals and objectives. It defines the target audience, positioning, messaging, content strategy, and channels to focus on for optimal results.

An effective social media strategy aligns with the overall business goals while leveraging the unique opportunities within social platforms. It helps brands expand reach, increase engagement, drive website traffic, raise brand awareness, and ultimately boost sales.

If you don’t have a website and increasing website traffic doesn’t fit into your marketing strategy, don’t worry. Sooner or later, as your business grows, you will definitely ask yourself the question “How much does it cost to build a marketplace website?” to conquer new heights.

Benefits of a Social Media Marketing Strategy

Having a documented social media marketing strategy brings immense value for brands in the following ways:

1. Creates Focus and Direction

   A social media strategy defines the goals and rules on whom to reach out to, what to post, on which platforms, and how to manage the budget. This focus and direction help avoid spending time and resources on conjecture instead of on a well-planned and executed strategy.

2. Allows Tracking and Optimization

   Specific objectives and metrics enable brands to measure campaign effectiveness and return on investment. They can quickly tell which strategies are effective and which ones are not to enhance the effectiveness of the strategies and minimize the ineffectiveness of the strategies.

3. Enables Collaboration

   A documented strategy aligns all the people to a common vision. Assigning specific roles and responsibilities means that members of a team are able to pursue common goals in harmony.

4. Prepares for Future Growth

   With the ever-shifting dynamics of social media platforms, having a versatile approach ensures that brands are well-positioned for the future. Organizations can quickly shift focus and redirect resources to exploit trends and opportunities.

5. Attracts Executive Buy-In

   When strategic plans are supported by data, it becomes easier to secure the executives’ support for funding and new projects that drive growth.

   Lastly, it can be concluded that social media marketing is mandatory for predictable and sustainable business development for contemporary brands. Now, let us consider how one can be developed.

How to Create A Social Media Marketing Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here are 10 essential steps to craft a killer social media marketing strategy for your brand:

1. Step 1: Set Goals and Objectives

   Be crystal clear about what you want to achieve from social media. While broader goals target long-term business growth, set specific and measurable SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) objectives across areas like:

   • Revenue growth – X% increase in sales driven by social media
   • Lead generation – X new MQLs/SQLs per month
   • Website traffic – X% growth in site visits from social
   • Engagement – X% increase in overall engagement rate
   • Follower growth – X new followers per platform per month

   These quantified objectives drive decisions and help accurately track performance. As per Content Marketing Institute, 94% of top-performing marketers rely on metrics to guide strategy.

2. Step 2: Research Your Audience

   Ensure you get a clear understanding of the target market on social media to develop the right content for the market. Demographics include age, gender, location, income, interests, pain, and buying stages.

   To go further, one can conduct online surveys and interviews. Summarise all the data into two to three key buyer profiles with information such as bio, objectives, issues, content type, and platforms. Describing it as something like a “social media manager” or “small business owner” also does the job.

3. Step 3: Analyze Competitors

   Do in-depth competitor research focused on their social media presence instead of vanity metrics alone. Assess strengths around engagement levels, community building, and content innovation that you can emulate. Identify weaknesses around poor branding, customer service, paid tactics, etc., on which to capitalize.

   Derive platform-specific insights around hashtags, creatives and formats that perform well in your niche. Such competitive intelligence gives you a strategic advantage in fine-tuning your game plan, as per Meltwater.

4. Step 4: Perform SWOT Analysis

   Conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) across shortlisted social media platforms. Audit existing assets like website visitors, email lists, and influencer connections that can amplify social media efforts via cross-promotion.

   Assess strengths to double down on established communities on Facebook. Tackle weaknesses around poor branding and engagement levels. Seize opportunities via modern platforms like TikTok and tools like NFTs. Keep updated on algorithm changes, platform shifts and new entrants. This balanced analysis guides optimal platform selection and resource allocation.

5. Step 5: Map Customer Journey

   Carefully map out the typical customer journey across awareness, consideration, decision and advocacy stages. Identify key touchpoints where social media content and communities can nurture prospects, address concerns, provide support etc., to drive conversions across funnels. For example, nurture cold audiences via valuable middle-of-the-funnel content and retargeting.

   Map specific messaging and platforms to guide users along their unique journey from discovery to retention and referrals. Go beyond hard-selling only to top-funnel audiences.

6. Step 6: Define Your Positioning Strategy & Brand Voice

   Articulate your desired brand positioning backed by a messaging hierarchy across social media – what does your brand stand for? What makes it unique? What value does it offer audiences vs competitors? Align to wider business and campaign goals.

   Establish a consistent tone of voice reflecting brand personality – be it fun, creative, knowledgeable, supportive etc. Define brand voice guidelines around elements like language style, emojis, humor levels and visual aesthetics. This voice will inform content across teams and strengthen identity.

7. Step 7: Select Social Media Platforms

   Carefully evaluate leading platforms based on parameters like audience alignment, content suitability, advertising opportunities, competitor presence and management complexity. Shortlist 2-3 viable ones for focus instead of spreading yourself too thin trying to master every channel.

   As per Search Engine Journal, the top platforms marketers prioritize are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube.

   

   Continuous research into user and usage trends is key to predict the next big opportunity early based on tools like Google Trends. Maintain robust profiles on chosen platforms using branding assets, contact info, calls to action and clear messaging.

8. Step 8: Create & Curate Engaging Content

   Develop an editorial content calendar aligned to audience preferences and buyer journey stages. Include a healthy mix of engaging formats like educational articles, entertaining videos, inspirational images and helpful FAQs.

   Leverage both original, owned content from thought leaders and UGC-like customer testimonials for diversity. Ensure licensing and attribution best practices.

   Repurpose and tailor assets like infographics and stats optimized for the unique formats of each platform – square videos for Instagram, fleets for Twitter (X) etc. This saves effort while respecting platform cultures.

9. Step 9: Promote Content & Grow Your Audience

   With shareable content made as per your strategy, aggressively promote it via both organic and paid tactics on selected platforms. Post consistently 2-3 times daily leveraging peak user times and weekends.

   Use owned channels like email newsletters, website banners and on-site pop-ups to retarget visitors. Employees, influencers and loyal fans make great brand ambassadors to widen reach. Well-planned hashtag campaigns, takeovers during events and user-generated contests often trend organically, expanding your audience.

   Paid ads like Facebook Lead Ads and LinkedIn Sponsored Content complement organic efforts well. Retargeting warm visitors via customized ads and offers helps convert them faster compared to cold traffic.

10. Step 10: Track Performance & Continuously Optimize

    Consistently monitor key metrics using built-in and third-party tools to derive actionable insights around content, platforms and campaigns. Assess impressions, engagement rate, sentiment, click-through rate, conversions etc.

    Figure out your best formats, positioning themes, promotion avenues etc. via detailed analysis. Double down on specific content pillars, platforms and creatives that deliver ROI while rectifying poor performers.

    Evolve messaging and strategy continuously based on the latest trends, innovations and platform shifts. Set up real-time alerts around performance changes. Conduct quarterly reviews to track growth trajectory against goals. This agility is key for sustaining measurable success on ever-changing social media.

Social Media Promotion with Viralpep

Viralpep is an emerging social media management platform that helps brands streamline workflows, collaborate better and make data-driven decisions. Its key capabilities make Viralpep a viable tool for crafting successful social media strategies:

1. Multi-Platform Integration

   Viralpep allows users to integrate and manage multiple social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube etc. from a unified dashboard. This saves tons of time switching between interfaces.

   Teams can streamline collaboration by accessing shared inboxes, asset libraries, calendars, etc., in one place. Smooth cross-platform posting is also enabled.

2. Robust Analytics

   In-depth analytics around audience demographics and psychographics, engagement metrics, best content times, competitor performance etc. provide actionable insights.

   Brands can identify high-performing platforms, campaigns, creatives for further optimization to amplify results. Trends analysis informs strategy evolution as well.

3. Smart Content Scheduling & Publishing

   Viralpep makes it easy to schedule and publish content across integrated platforms at the best times for maximum visibility.

   Bulk scheduling of platform-specific content formats is possible, too. Teams save hours spent manually posting cross-platform.

4. Competitor Benchmarking

   Viralpep enables brands to benchmark performance against competitors on all key metrics like engagement rate, follower growth etc.

   Gaps can be bridged by optimizing strategies and campaigns accordingly. It’s easy to track leaderboard positions.

5. Audience Management

   Detailed audience analysis tools provide insights to identify and target high-value segments on social media.

   Lookalike modeling helps discover more potential customers. Retargeting gets personalized for conversions.

6. Campaign Management

   Collaborate with your team to ideate, plan, execute and track integrated campaigns spanning content, ads and influencers.

   Streamlined workflows ensure consistency across channels and territories for global campaigns.

7. Influencer Marketing

   Viralpep makes influencer identification, outreach, and campaign management efficient through dedicated tools.

   Measure overall content amplification and track granular metrics like clicks, views and sales per post.

8. Omnichannel Integration

   Social media strategies can be integrated across paid, owned and earned channels for omnichannel success.

   Lead flows to CRMs and impact metrics like email signups, traffic, and app installs become trackable.

   With these well-rounded capabilities, Viralpep helps craft data-driven and high-performing social media strategies for modern brands. Its workflow efficiencies also free up resources for higher-value tasks.

Conclusion

An effective social media marketing strategy aligned with business goals is key for consistent growth. By following the above steps, brands can craft an optimized plan to maximize ROI across chosen platforms and audience segments.

Regular performance tracking and agile optimization based on insights take the guesswork out of social media success. So, analyze your landscape, set clear goals, create strategic plans and execute relentlessly to become a social media rockstar brand.

What’s the difference between social media monitoring and social media listening? While these terms are often used interchangeably, they serve distinct purposes.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Social media monitoring focuses on tracking direct mentions of your brand—comments, messages, and conversations—and responding to these engagements.
• Social media listening, on the other hand, involves analyzing broader discussions across your industry, brand, and relevant topics. This helps you gain insights into audience sentiment and refine your overall strategy.

Both are essential for businesses. Monitoring tells you what’s being said about your brand, while listening helps you understand why it’s being said.

For instance, imagine you’re overseeing marketing for an e-commerce brand and have just launched a new product. Social media monitoring might show that many customers are talking about it, signaling potential success. But social media listening could reveal that a significant portion of those mentions are negative, with further analysis pointing to shipping delays as the real issue. Monitoring shows the surface-level data, but listening uncovers the root cause.

In this article, we’ll explore social media monitoring and listening in detail, and explain the key differences between the two.

What is Social Listening?

Social listening involves tracking and analyzing all conversations across social media platforms that are relevant to your business, brand, or industry. It goes beyond simply monitoring mentions by extracting deeper insights from discussions happening across various channels, providing a fuller picture of public sentiment and emerging trends.

While social media monitoring focuses on tracking direct mentions, tags, and interactions with your brand, social listening delves into understanding the underlying context, emotions, and themes behind these conversations. This can include untagged brand mentions, industry-related discussions, and even customer pain points, offering valuable information that monitoring alone might miss.

Here’s what social listening can help you uncover:

• Social share of voice: This helps you evaluate how much of the conversation in your industry revolves around your brand versus your competitors. Understanding your social share of voice lets you gauge brand awareness and recognition compared to others in your space.
• Brand sentiment: Social listening provides a clear picture of customer feelings toward your brand, helping you assess whether the perception is positive, neutral, or negative. It allows you to capture both explicit praise and complaints, along with more nuanced emotional responses that can shape your brand image.
• Social ROI: By analyzing social media engagement, sentiment, and conversion metrics, social listening helps you determine the effectiveness of your social media efforts. This allows you to measure how well your strategies are performing in generating leads, building brand loyalty, or increasing sales.
• Trends and opportunities: Social listening reveals emerging topics, memes, or industry shifts before they become mainstream. Identifying new trends early allows you to create timely content and engage with your audience in relevant ways, helping position your brand as a thought leader in your niche.
• Audience insights: You can also gain a deeper understanding of your audience’s interests, needs, and preferences through the themes and topics they discuss most frequently. This can inform everything from product development to marketing strategies.
• Crisis management: Early detection of negative conversations or complaints through social listening allows businesses to address issues before they escalate into a full-blown crisis. It enables you to engage with dissatisfied customers and rectify problems swiftly, maintaining your brand’s reputation.

Most importantly, businesses can use the insights from social listening to make strategic, data-driven decisions rather than relying on assumptions or guesswork. Whether it’s refining your messaging, creating social media content that resonates, or adjusting your products or services, social listening provides actionable intelligence that aligns your business with your audience’s needs and expectations.

By integrating social listening into your overall strategy, you’re better positioned to stay ahead of competitors, build stronger relationships with your audience, and continually improve your social media performance.

Why Social Listening Matters?

Here are a few reasons why social listening is a game-changer in the digital marketing landscape. It enables businesses to connect, adapt, and thrive in today’s dynamic world of customer engagement and increases social media engagement.

1. Tracking Social Mentions

   Social listening tracks every mention of your brand across the web, offering a detailed view of how your brand is perceived. A comprehensive strategy goes beyond just tagged mentions, expanding to untagged mentions and even monitoring competitors and industry events to measure your audience reach.

   This approach provides valuable data, such as the platforms where your brand is most discussed and the frequency of mentions for your brand and your competitors. With these insights, you can better understand your brand’s online presence and make informed decisions to enhance your digital marketing efforts.

2. Engaging in Relevant Conversations

   Diving into conversations about your brand or industry offers insights into what your customers truly want. You can discover which features they love, what they appreciate most, and the areas that receive the most complaints.

   With this information, you can build on your strengths and improve where needed. Additionally, actively participating in discussions where your brand isn’t explicitly mentioned allows you to provide valuable information or advice, positioning your brand as a trusted expert. This approach often leads to long-term customer loyalty as people connect with brands that demonstrate genuine care and expertise.

3. Identifying Loyal Fans and Influencers

   Social listening is an effective way to discover authentic influencers who can convey your brand message to the right audience and help you select influencers for your brand. It also helps you identify loyal customers who consistently support your brand and recommend it to others. These advocates are invaluable in your brand’s journey, providing genuine endorsements and fostering community.

   Another aspect of social listening involves engaging with your audience in innovative ways. For example, utilizing video chat platforms like Emerald Chat for random video chat, an alternative of Omegle, can provide direct insights into customer opinions and preferences. This allows brands to interact with their audience in real-time, creating meaningful connections and gathering valuable feedback.

4. Analyzing the Competition

   Social listening extends beyond your brand by offering insights into what customers say about your competitors. By paying attention to these conversations, you can identify where your competitors may fall short and avoid similar pitfalls.

   Moreover, you can capitalize on areas where your competitors are struggling, giving you a competitive advantage. Extracting insights from social media conversations and blog comments is useful for understanding customer sentiments and preferences. This information helps you refine your strategies and tailor your offerings to meet the needs of your target audience better.

The Benefits of Social Media Listening

Without social media listening tools, you risk overlooking key industry trends and customer preferences, missing valuable opportunities for growth and improvement. While social media monitoring focuses on what is being said and by whom, listening goes deeper to uncover the sentiment and context behind those conversations. Without social listening, businesses might misinterpret customer feedback or misunderstand their audience’s feelings, leading to misguided actions or missed chances to enhance their products, services, or messaging.

What is Social Media Monitoring?

Social monitoring is like “reading the room” in the digital world. It involves tracking and responding to mentions of your brand across the internet, including on social media, forums, blogs, and review sites.

The main goal is to identify every mention of your brand, product, or service and respond in a way that adds value. For positive mentions, a simple “thank you” works well. For negative ones, a sincere apology followed by a commitment to make things right is crucial—along with taking the steps necessary to fulfill that promise.

Social monitoring involves searching for:

• Your brand name (including any common misspellings)
• Product names (including misspellings)
• Competitor names

In short, social media monitoring is an extension of your customer support, specifically within social media platforms. It involves actively watching all conversations related to your brand and engaging with each one accordingly. The goal is to proactively connect with as many audience members as possible, building a sense of connection and loyalty between your brand and its customers.

Why Social Monitoring Matters?

Social monitoring offers several key benefits for businesses, helping them build stronger relationships with customers, address concerns proactively, and maintain a positive brand reputation in the constantly changing online environment.

1. Assisting Customers with Queries

   One of the most straightforward ways customers express their thoughts is by tagging brands on social media to ask questions, make statements, or share complaints. Failing to respond to these tags means missing out on a critical aspect of your customer service efforts.

   Social media monitoring helps you identify these tags and respond quickly with the right information. Embracing this practice is essential for brands to stay relevant and competitive in a crowded market. Proactively addressing customer inquiries and concerns can enhance your brand’s reputation and strengthen your relationship with your audience.

2. Identifying Relevant Trends

   By closely monitoring mentions of your brand and your competitors, you can spot the latest trends in your industry and leverage them to your advantage.

   These trends provide valuable insights into what users are interested in and present opportunities to adapt your products or services to meet their needs. Understanding your customers through social monitoring gives you critical information that can help boost your sales and maximize revenue. This data is key to optimizing your offerings and achieving long-term success in a competitive market.

3. Keeping an Eye on Competitors

   Tracking mentions of your competitors offers vital insights into their strengths and weaknesses, which is essential for developing effective product and marketing strategies.

   But don’t just stop at monitoring customer mentions. Dive deeper into analyzing their content, campaigns, and related products. Identify what types of content drive the most engagement and explore ways to create your unique versions (without copying). Likewise, observe any mistakes your competitors make and avoid repeating them. Learning from the competition can refine your strategies and stay ahead.

4. Gathering Social Proof

   A genuine, positive customer review builds trust in your brand. Social monitoring helps you find these glowing comments about your products, which you can proudly use as social proof. People naturally trust other customers’ recommendations more than a brand’s promotional messages.

   You don’t need to worry about appearing boastful. If your brand genuinely provides a valuable customer experience, sharing feedback is only fair. Your customers deserve to hear about the great service you provide, and you deserve recognition for your hard work. Embrace the positive reviews and let them showcase your business/brand’s excellence.

The Benefits of Social Media Monitoring

Failing to monitor social media mentions is like ignoring a ringing phone—many brands miss out on crucial insights that could drive more informed, strategic decision-making.

Social media monitoring plays a vital role in your brand’s communication strategy. It allows social media managers and customer service teams to stay on top of interactions, acting as the first line of response to incoming conversations, questions, and concerns across your social platforms. This real-time awareness is essential for managing your brand’s reputation and engaging effectively with your audience.

Social Listening vs. Monitoring: Key Differences

Although social media monitoring and social listening are often used interchangeably, there are important distinctions between the two. Understanding these differences is essential for leveraging each effectively to benefit your business or brand. It’s important to note that this isn’t about determining which strategy is better. Instead, it’s about understanding the benefits of social listening and the benefits of social media monitoring, and using both approaches to maximize your social media ROI.

1. Micro vs. Macro Focus

   Social monitoring operates on a micro level, where customer service teams actively search for customer queries, issues, and comments to provide timely responses. This approach involves scanning various public platform feeds to identify and address relevant mentions.

   In contrast, social listening functions on a macro level, focusing on how customers perceive your brand and your entire industry. It involves analyzing conversations involving your customers, competitors’ customers, and industry experts to understand your brand’s position within the market comprehensively.

   Think of social monitoring as observing individual trees, while social listening is about viewing the entire forest. While social monitoring is critical to social listening, the latter provides a broader perspective that extends beyond individual interactions to offer a holistic view of your brand within the industry.

2. Active vs. Responsive Approach

   Social listening is a proactive exercise, where you actively seek out customer and industry feedback to identify gaps or areas for improvement. This approach is about uncovering opportunities and addressing potential issues directly.

   The insights gathered from social listening often lead to long-term strategic decisions. For example, brand mentions might highlight a missing feature, influencing the company’s product development. Industry conversations could reveal trends that prompt early adoption of new tools, giving your brand a competitive edge.

   Conversely, social monitoring is more reactive. Customers initiate the interaction by tagging your brand with questions, complaints, statements, or suggestions, and your brand responds accordingly.

   This is why social monitoring is often integrated into broader social listening strategies. While monitoring tagged mentions is a great way to gauge customer sentiment, it’s just one aspect. Both active listening and responsive monitoring work together to provide a comprehensive approach to understanding and engaging with customers and the industry.

3. Manual vs. Automated Processes

   One of the most straightforward differences between social listening vs social monitoring lies in their execution—one is manual, while the other is largely automated.

   With social monitoring, you can either use a tool to compile all brand mentions or manually check your notifications for relevant mentions. However, responding to each mention requires direct, hands-on effort.

   The process of social listening necessitates the use of specialized automated tools. It surpasses the simple tracking of tagged mentions on social media. By inputting relevant keywords and phrases into the system, the tool can reveal digital conversations, comments, articles, podcasts, videos, and other content related to those specific terms.

   Additionally, automated tools allow you to monitor mentions of your competitors effectively, which is challenging to do manually, especially when considering social media marketing challenges. By leveraging the right automation tools, you can efficiently manage and analyze vast amounts of data, providing comprehensive insights that manual monitoring alone cannot offer.

Final Thoughts on Social Monitoring and Listening

Social monitoring and listening are essential for staying connected to conversations about your brand, competitors, and industry as a whole. However, getting started can be a bit daunting. You’ll need to determine which keywords, hashtags, and topics to track, monitor multiple social platforms, and learn how to interpret the vast amount of data you collect. This can quickly feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the process.

Social monitoring helps you track direct mentions and engagements, giving you real-time insights into what people are saying about your brand. On the other hand, social listening allows you to look beyond individual mentions and analyze broader industry trends, audience sentiment, and emerging themes. Together, these tools provide a full view of how your brand is perceived and allow you to refine your strategy accordingly.

Understanding how to leverage these insights effectively is crucial for optimizing your marketing, customer service, and product development. For example, listening can help identify pain points or desires that customers express, enabling you to improve offerings or shift messaging before a trend becomes mainstream.

Our comprehensive social listening guide simplifies the learning process. you’ll learn how to:

• Track the right keywords, hashtags, and topics relevant to your brand and industry.
• Measure brand sentiment and customer emotions to understand how your brand is perceived.
• Identify trending discussions, allowing you to stay ahead of competitors and join relevant conversations.
• Analyze content performance across platforms to enhance your social media strategy.
• Implement actionable insights from listening reports to drive business growth.

With Viralpep’s powerful social media management tools, you can streamline your social monitoring efforts. By mastering these skills, you’ll engage with your audience in more meaningful ways, stay informed on industry trends, and make data-driven decisions that can strengthen your overall strategy. Let Viralpep be your partner in navigating the complexities of social media insights.

The topic of Facebook’s organic reach is a continual point of discussion among marketers. If you’re someone who finds Facebook engagement metrics frustrating, this post is tailored for you.

Even with the challenges, there’s still a significant opportunity to reach your audience’s feeds. The key is identifying the best time to post on Facebook to maximize likes, comments, and shares.

While many marketers turn to paid ads, not everyone has the budget to boost social media reach consistently. So, the big question remains: when is the best time to post on Facebook?

Moreover, is there just one ideal time, or are there multiple optimal times for posting on Facebook?

Utilizing free Facebook analytics tools can help you assess your audience’s activity patterns, but solving this puzzle requires a deeper dive. We analyzed over 50,000 Facebook accounts and their posts to uncover the best times to post on Facebook.

Finding the perfect timing can be challenging, but our data-driven insights and tips will guide you in your search.

Let’s get started!

When is the Best Time to Post on Facebook?

The best time to post on Facebook is around 10 a.m. on Fridays. Mondays at 10 a.m. and Tuesdays at 9 a.m. also show strong engagement, making them prime times to connect with your audience, according to Viralpep data.

• Mondays: 9 a.m. to noon
• Tuesdays: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• Wednesdays: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• Thursdays: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• Fridays: 9 to 11 a.m.
• Best days to post on Facebook: Mondays through Thursdays
• Worst day to post on Facebook: Sundays

Facebook remains the most widely used platform by marketers, with 89% of them leveraging it, and it boasts a staggering 3.05 billion monthly active users. Its influence on social media usage is undeniable for consumers and marketers. Compared to last year, periods of high engagement on Facebook still occur in mid-mornings during weekdays, aligning with standard business hours.

The best times to post on Facebook are typically Mondays through Fridays, starting around 9 a.m. and continuing until early afternoon, around 2 p.m. What does this mean for marketers? It suggests that most users are taking short breaks during their routines to check Facebook, making this the ideal time to schedule posts for maximum interaction.

With a robust Facebook marketing strategy, businesses can connect with the right audiences through their content, whether it’s informing them about products or offering exclusive deals. Remember, engagement is a blend of how frequently you post on social media and the type of content you share.

When are the best days and times to post on Facebook?

While we have insights on the ideal times to post on Facebook in general, how does it vary for each day of the week?

Friday is the top day for posting on Facebook, with strong engagement from about 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The ideal time to post is around 10 a.m. Mondays and Tuesdays are also excellent days for posting, though engagement tends to dip slightly midweek.

The worst day to post on Facebook is Saturday since engagement is significantly lower than the rest of the week. Similarly, Sundays should also be avoided for good engagement and reach.

While the general posting times mentioned earlier provide a good starting point, they might not perfectly align with the habits of your specific audience. Discovering your best time to post on Facebook is vital for effective social media management. Identifying when your audience is most active and engaged will enhance your overall strategy.

If you’re looking for the best days and times to post on Facebook, check out the analysis below:

1. Best times to post on Facebook on Mondays

   The optimal posting time is between 9 a.m. and noon. While there’s decent engagement from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the highest engagement occurs just before lunchtime.

2. Best times to post on Facebook on Tuesdays

   The best window is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with another peak at 5 p.m. Engagement remains steady throughout the business day.

3. Best times to post on Facebook on Wednesdays

   Wednesdays see high activity from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an additional surge at 5 p.m., making it one of the most active days to post.

4. Best times to post on Facebook on Thursdays

   Similar to Wednesday, Thursdays show strong engagement from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with another peak at 5 p.m.

5. Best times to post on Facebook on Fridays

   Fridays are best for posting between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., as users begin to shift into weekend mode. However, there’s still steady activity throughout the workday.

6. Best times to post on Facebook on Saturdays

   On Saturdays, the best engagement happens between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Overall, weekends, including Saturday, tend to lower engagement than weekdays.

7. Best times to post on Facebook on Sundays

   The optimal time on Sundays is between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Like Saturdays, Sundays typically see reduced engagement across most social platforms.

Why does timing matter when posting on Facebook?

Think of scheduling social media posts like planning an event. Hosting an event in the middle of the night will likely result in a smaller turnout than if you choose a time during the day or evening when more people are awake and active.

In the same way, engagement on your social channels depends on your audience’s activity. If your followers aren’t online, they won’t be able to interact with your posts.

When is the best time to post on Facebook? In theory, it’s simple: the best time is when your audience is most likely to be online. This is when your content has the greatest chance of being seen and engaged with, signaling to Facebook’s algorithm to expand the reach of your posts.

In practice, it’s more complex. Your audience may not be active at the same time as others. Time zones and differing behaviors between weekdays and weekends add to the complexity.

Here are a few key points to keep in mind:

• Facebook is the world’s most popular social network.
• The average Facebook Page posts five times per day.
• Users spend nearly 20 hours a month on Facebook.
• Millennials represent nearly half of Facebook’s audience.
• Only 19% of teens use Facebook daily.

Luckily, there are tools to help determine the optimal day and time for posting on your specific Facebook Page. We’ll explore those in the final section, but for now, here are some general tips to guide your Facebook posting strategy.”

How to find your best time to post on Facebook with Insights

Unfortunately, with a recent update, Facebook removed the feature that showed when your fans are online, so you’ll need to track this manually.

If you’ve been posting on Facebook for some time, you can review your existing metrics for insights. If you’re just starting out, I recommend using the suggested posting times for about a month and then following the steps below to analyze your results.

Here’s the approach I suggest

1. Log in to your Facebook Page. Click on your profile picture at the top right and select your Page from the dropdown menu.
2. Click on “Professional Dashboard” from the left menu.
3. Click on “Content” in the left sidebar.
4. Choose a timeframe, such as ‘Last 90 days’. Click on “Date” and select “Post Reach” to sort posts by reach. Focus on posts you haven’t boosted to gauge organic reach.
5. Note the day and time of day for the top ten posts and their content types (video, photo, text).
6. Switch to “Engagement” and repeat the process with the top ten posts. Look for patterns in posting times and days.
7. Check for recurring patterns or trends, like specific days or times when posts perform best. If needed, expand to 20 or 30 posts for a broader view.

Viralpep will guide you on the best day to post on Facebook, the ideal type of content to share, and how frequently to post for your specific target audience.

How to find your best time to post on Facebook with Viralpepe

A social media management tool like Viralpep helps you dive deep into your analytics, offering tailored insights for your brand’s accounts across all networks, collectively and individually. Gain a competitive edge by comparing your performance with competitors to uncover new engagement opportunities.

Viralpep simplifies this process by providing insights based on your historical performance. To use Viralpep, follow these steps:

1. Ensure your Facebook Page or group is linked to Viralpep. Follow their guide to connect to a Facebook Page or group.
2. You’ll need to be on Viralpep’s Essential. You can try the basic plan for free for 15 days or check Viralpep’s pricing for details here.
3. Click on “Analytics” in the top menu.
4. Choose Facebook from your channel list on the left.
5. Viralpep will show you optimal posting times and suggest schedules to boost engagement.

With these methods, you can fine-tune your posting strategy to reach your audience when they’re most active.

Best Times to Post on Facebook Marketplace

If you use Facebook Marketplace for social selling, understanding the best time to post on Facebook Marketplace is just as important. Since marketplace users often browse during off-hours, aim for times outside the traditional workday, such as early mornings, evenings, and weekends. Analyzing your sales performance on the platform can also help pinpoint the best posting times for your products.

Wrapping It Up

Now that we’ve debunked the myth of a best time to post on Facebook, it’s time to focus on experimentation. Dive deep into your audience’s specific behaviors to identify when they are most active. Utilizing tools like Facebook Insights and Viralpep helps you identify the best times to post on Facebook business pages and optimize engagement.

Analyzing your data will provide the most accurate insights into your audience’s habits, helping you tailor your approach effectively. Whether you’re posting on your business page, facebook reels, or the marketplace, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so testing is crucial.

Additionally, use Viralpep to plan and publish your posts at optimal times. With thorough testing and a solid strategy, managing your social media accounts becomes straightforward, allowing you to boost social media engagement and improve your overall visibility on Facebook.

So, don’t wait—start optimizing your posts today!

In the digital age, making an Instagram Reel go viral might feel like hitting the jackpot. Imagine your reel blowing up with over 7.5 million views, 273K shares, 99.7K likes, and 16.8K saves—yet, the follower count barely budges. WTH, right?

Even though that wasn’t your endgame, this experience has prompted you to reconsider how to get more followers on Instagram. If a meme that even got Instagram’s big cheese, Adam Mosseri, to notice didn’t give you a major follower boost, what will?

Instagram is the MVP for many brands’ social media game. It’s a powerhouse for driving traffic, boosting sales, and engaging peeps. But if your growth and engagement numbers are looking kinda sad, don’t sweat it—you’re definitely not flying solo.

The competition on Insta is fierce, and cracking the algorithm code can feel like solving a Rubik’s Cube. Nevertheless, investing in growing your audience is absolutely worth it. A bigger follower count means more opportunities to engage and delight your customers.

With over 2 billion monthly active users and features like shoppable posts, Instagram is a goldmine for businesses of all shapes and sizes. But here’s the real talk: unless you’re a household name, leveling up your follower count takes some serious hustle.

Ready to amp up your Insta game and figure out how to get more Instagram followers? This post will walk you through some tried-and-true strategies to help you snag your first 5,000 followers or smash through to the next 5k.

Let’s dive in and make your Instagram pop!

Types of Instagram Followers

Understanding the types of followers on Instagram is crucial for devising a growth strategy that works. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Fake Followers

   Fake followers are accounts created to inflate follower counts artificially. They don’t engage with your content, and their presence can harm your credibility. Instagram actively identifies and removes these accounts, so it’s essential to avoid purchasing them.

2. Ghost Followers

   Ghost followers are real accounts that no longer interact with your content. They can skew your engagement metrics and make it harder to reach your target audience. Identifying and removing these followers can help improve your engagement rates.

3. Organic Followers

   Organic followers are genuine users who follow you because they are interested in your content. They are the most valuable as they engage with your posts and are more likely to become loyal supporters or customers.

20 Ways to Get More Instagram Followers

Before diving into the juicy details, let’s get one thing straight: this post is all about building an organic following answering the burning question, how do you get Instagram followers?

And yes, that’s a big deal!

Some brands try to cut corners when it comes to how to get more Instagram followers. We’re not about that life—no shady shortcuts here. We know those pay-for-play sites exist, but honestly, they’re just not worth it for long-term success.

Here’s the tea: Instagram’s algorithm is super smart and will ditch low-quality accounts and fake engagement from sketchy bots. So, if you’re looking for legit growth, it’s all about putting in the work.

Trust us, it’s totally worth it. Check out our top tips for boosting your Instagram followers the real way. Read on below for the deets!

1. Optimize Your Instagram Account

   Ensure your Instagram profile is fully optimized. Use a clear and recognizable profile picture, write a compelling bio and include a link to your website or a landing page. A well-optimized profile makes a strong first impression and can convert visitors into followers.

2. Create a Cohesive Instagram Feed

   A visually appealing and cohesive Instagram feed attracts and retains followers. Use consistent colours, filters, and themes to make your profile aesthetically pleasing. This consistency helps build your brand’s identity and makes your profile more engaging.

3. Keep a Consistent Content Calendar

   Consistency is key in maintaining and growing your follower base. Develop a content calendar to plan and schedule posts regularly. Aim to post at least once a day to keep your audience engaged and attract new followers. Tools like Viralpep can help you manage and schedule your content efficiently.

4. Write Descriptive Captions with Keywords

   Captions are an essential part of Instagram posts ideas. Write descriptive captions that include relevant keywords to improve discoverability. For instance, if you’re posting about a new product, include keywords like “new arrivals” or “exclusive offers.” This can also help with how do you get Instagram followers organically.

5. Find the Best Hashtags for Your Followers

   Hashtags increase the visibility of your posts. Research and use a mix of popular and niche hashtags relevant to your content and audience. Aim for a balance—using highly popular hashtags can increase reach, while niche hashtags can attract a more targeted audience.

6. Find Your Best Time to Post

   Posting at the right times can significantly impact your engagement rates. Use Instagram Insights to determine when your followers are most active. Experiment with different posting times to find the optimal schedule for your audience.

7. Make Sure Your Instagram Content is Accessible

   Accessibility is crucial for reaching a broader audience. Use alternative text (alt text) for images, ensure videos have captions, and choose high-contrast colours to make your content accessible to users with visual impairments.

8. Collaborate with Brands, Creators, and Influencers

   Partnerships can expose your profile to new audiences. Collaborate with brands, creators, or influencers who align with your values and target audience. Whether through shoutouts, joint campaigns, or guest appearances, these collaborations can boost your follower count.

9. Create More Instagram Reels

   Instagram Reels are a great way to engage users with short, entertaining videos. They have high potential for viral reach, so create Reels that resonate with your audience. Use trending sounds and creative editing to capture attention. This can help you gain followers on Instagram free.

10. Optimize Your Instagram Stories Highlights

    Instagram Stories Highlights allow you to keep your best Stories visible on your profile. Use them to showcase important content like product features, behind-the-scenes moments, or user testimonials. Well-curated Highlights can attract new followers and keep current ones engaged.

11. Create Memes and Other Shareable Content

    Memes and shareable content can increase your reach and engagement. Create Engaging Instagram Carousel Post that resonates with your audience’s interests and sense of humour. Encourage followers to share your posts to expand your reach organically.

12. Lean into User-Generated Content

    Encourage your followers to create content related to your brand. User-generated content (UGC) builds community and trust. Share UGC on your profile to show appreciation for your followers and attract new ones through social proof.

13. Cross-Promote Your Instagram on Other Channels

    Promote your Instagram profile across your other marketing channels. Add your Instagram handle to your website, email newsletters, and other social media platforms. This cross-promotion can drive traffic to your Instagram profile and help you gain followers on Instagram for free.

14. Analyze High-Performing Content

    Regularly review your Instagram analytics to understand which content performs best. Focus on creating similar posts to maintain and grow your follower base. Pay attention to metrics such as likes, comments, shares, and saves.

15. Experiment on Threads

    Threads, Instagram’s newer feature for more personal and text-based interactions, can help you connect with your audience in a different way. Use Threads to share insights, updates, or engage in conversations with your followers.

16. Get Verified on Instagram

    Getting verified can enhance your credibility and visibility on Instagram. The blue checkmark helps you stand out in search results and reduces the risk of impersonation. To get verified, follow Instagram’s verification guidelines and meet their criteria.

17. Interact with Your Audience in Comments and Stories

    Engagement is crucial for growth. Respond to comments and messages promptly and interact with your audience through Stories. Use interactive features like polls and Q&A sessions to encourage engagement and build relationships.

18. Understand Your Analytics

    Tracking your performance is essential for growth. Use Instagram Insights or third-party tools to monitor key metrics. Understanding your audience’s preferences and behaviour helps you tailor your content strategy for better results.

19. Try Instagram Promotions and Ads

    Instagram promotions and ads can boost your reach and attract new followers. Create targeted ads to reach your desired audience and increase your visibility. Experiment with different ad formats to see what works best for your brand.

20. Share Your Profile Link Externally

    Promote your Instagram profile link outside of Instagram. Share it in blog posts, on your business cards, and through other digital marketing efforts. Increasing your profile’s visibility on various platforms can help you gain followers Instagram free.

At Viralpep, we specialize in providing social media management solutions that help businesses grow their online presence. Our social media scheduling tool and strategies are designed to enhance your Instagram marketing efforts and drive real, organic growth. Explore our services to see how we can help you gain followers on Instagram free and achieve your social media goals.

Conclusion

Growing your Instagram following requires a combination of strategic planning, engaging content, and active interaction with your audience. By implementing these 20 strategies, you can increase your followers organically and build a robust Instagram presence. Remember, consistency and quality are key to long-term success. For more expert tips and tools to boost your Instagram growth, visit Viralpep and take your social media strategy to the next level.

The impact of social media on business is immense, both positively and negatively. Do you agree? 90% of businesses do. A recent survey found that 71% of consumers who had a positive social media experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others. This highlights the importance of leveraging popular social media platforms to stay competitive. With nearly five billion people using social media worldwide, we are talking about long-term social media impacts, not a temporary trend.

We have already written about the importance and impact of social media marketing for business growth in 2023. The article is still relevant, but we want to talk not only about growth, but also the importance of social media for the very existence of a business and maintaining a competitive advantage.

How does Social Media Impact Your Business?

1. Improving Customer Service

   Social networks are an essential part of effective omnichannel support. Consumers expect swift, thoughtful responses to their tags and direct messages—76% value quick replies, and 70% want personalized responses, according to the latest research. Another study shows that three-quarters of consumers expect quick responses within 24 hours or less.

   Customer satisfaction and brand loyalty over the long term depend on the speed of response. The lifetime value of customers increases significantly, which has a positive impact on revenue growth. If the service team is experiencing a large influx of users and it is difficult to cope with this volume, you can integrate a chatbot or AI Assist. They provide first aid, thereby reducing the number of requests for minor issues.

   Social networks should be only part of your channels of interaction with clients and partners. Do not forget about instant messengers, phone calls, faxes. You should not ignore any of the channels, but you can adapt some to your needs. For example, use call recording to optimize efforts and protect the interests of the company. You can also use digital faxing instead of an analog fax. What do you need for this? First, download an application, fax from an iPhone or something similar will do. Second, register and get your number. You are all set to use fax. Explore the available options for communication channels with clients and use the most of them.

2. Increasing Reach of Potential Clients

   A report by Search Logistics states that 90% of marketers see increased exposure and 75% see increased traffic from social marketing. Social media is key for brand awareness and customer engagement. Here are some tips:

   • Segment Your Audience: Ensure your target audience uses the platform.
   • Use Visuals: Pair content with eye-catching visuals to boost engagement.
   • Initiate Conversations: Engage by building conversations and tagging others.
   • Measure Your Efforts: Use external tools to track and optimize your social activities.

   Even if your marketing strategy is focused on inbound marketing and deep SEO work on your website, you still need social media. We have already talked about 8 key reasons, we will not repeat them now.

3. Brand Promotion

   Index data shows that 68% of consumers follow brands on social media to stay informed about new products or services. This highlights social media’s power in building brand awareness. Influencer marketing is a particularly effective tactic, as nearly half of consumers trust influencers as much as six months ago, with 30% trusting them even more.

4. Increase Brand Loyalty

   A 2017 survey of 5,700 marketers found that 69% build loyal fans through social media. Similarly, 66% of users aged 18-24 and 60% of those aged 25-34 are more loyal to brands they follow online. Our recent survey in Chicago showed that 60% of small business customers follow their regular service providers on Facebook. Additionally, 54% believe businesses engaging with clients on social media provide better service.

5. SMM is Cheaper Than SEO (usually)

   This is not quite an obvious and rather profound question. With a similar reach (Google has 4.3 million users, and social networks have 4.6 million), SMM is usually cheaper. This is in terms of monthly expenses. Plus, SMM allows you to conduct deeply targeted advertising campaigns and achieve only target views.

   This is true when considering the short-term perspective and medium-term goals. Interestingly, SEO is even cheaper in the long term. But both SMM and SEO can go viral in the future and work on organic traffic with minimal expenses on advertising services. A combination of business development in Google and social networks is obviously the best strategy.

6. Convenient Tool for Collecting Reviews

   Social media platforms enable businesses to gather direct feedback from customers, enhancing the brand’s image and relationships. Ensuring customers feel heard and valued fosters happiness and loyalty. Companies that address customer service requests on social media can earn 20% – 40% more revenue per customer.

   Here’s another statistic from The 2024 Influencer Marketing Report – about half of consumers make purchases once a month or more often inspired by an influencer’s post on social media. More than 85% do this at least once a year. Today, about 90% of business owners and managers admit that social media is essential for customer retention. All this is thanks to closer connections with customers and potential buyers, including through collecting and analyzing feedback.

7. Increase Sales

   According to We Are Social’s Digital in 2018 Global Overview, 17% of the world’s population shops and pays bills online. Leading economies like the UK, South Korea, Germany, Sweden, and the U.S. have the highest e-commerce penetration. Notably, people aged 18 to 34, with the most buying power, are heavily influenced by social media in their purchasing decisions. A Nielsen study found that 25% of new vehicle buyers in the U.S. used Twitter to help make their choice. Among 600 senior marketers, 39% reported a medium ROI from organic social media, while 20% saw the highest ROI from it. Paid social ads provided medium ROI for 36% and high ROI for 17%.

How Viralpep Can Help You?

Viralpep can optimize your SMM efforts at all stages: from post creation to in-depth analytics:

• Create and schedule posts: You can create and schedule social media posts for networks including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest. Upload videos, reels, and enhance your post captions with our URL shortener.
• Flexible Management: Our platform offers role assignment, task delegation, team monitoring, and customizable access through role-based controls. The team management feature also keeps your strategy adaptable and responsive.
• Publishing Planning: Viralpep simplifies your social media strategy with its social media scheduling tool, Multiple Timezone Support, Multimedia Post capabilities, and Post Preview. Reach a global audience by scheduling posts across different time zones, enrich content with images and videos, and preview posts before they go live.
• Real-time Social Media Analytics: Optimize your data with advanced filters, receive instant notifications for significant changes, and gain comprehensive insights into audience demographics and engagement trends. Effortlessly track events and understand your global impact.

Final Thoughts

The impact of social media on business performance is undeniable. Companies use these platforms to boost brand visibility, engage customers, and drive strategic marketing. Social media can enhance brand value but also carries risks of negative publicity if not managed well.

Of course, social media comes with challenges for businesses. First of all, it is the complexity of managing social networks and maintaining an active communication strategy with clients and stakeholders. Viralpep is the solution to this problem. Our platform is not just a publication planning tool, but a whole system for managing your social networks. Now is the best time to try the intelligent features of our platform and take your SMM to the next level. Start now with our 15-day free-trial, regardless of whether you are an individual or a company.

According to the 2023 State of Marketing AI Report, 64% of marketers find AI very important to grow in the first year. The primary motto of using AI in marketing is to streamline repetitive tasks and reduce time.

Whether marketing on social media websites, creating content, or email marketing, the use of AI can benefit everywhere. This especially applies to content creation, including writing post descriptions, bios, and copies.

AI content generators can help users write social media posts of various kinds. If you’re an active social media user, you should also try using them. In case you don’t know which one to use, explore a few best tools below.

Jasper

Jasper (formerly Jarvis AI) has been around for a long time as a reputed content generator. Not only blog posts, it can be used to create social media and other forms of natural, high-quality, engaging marketing content.

You can use Jasper to create organic social media content for:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Quora
• YouTube

It comes with many pre-built templates that are used to generate the content. For example, a Quora Answers template to write answers on Quora and a Photo Post Captions template to be used for Instagram and Facebook.

So, instead of writing post descriptions and other social media content yourself, use this generative AI to do it in less time. Focus on proofreading the copy and work on the necessary improvements.

Best for: Generating high-quality post descriptions, ad copies, and answers for different social media platforms

Features:

• Uses advanced AI to create engaging, well-structured social media posts based on minimal input.
• Can maintain your desired brand voice in the post descriptions. However, you would need to define your style and tone by providing it with existing text.
• 50+ templates to write marketing content of various types and for different social media platforms.
• Supports multiple languages so that you can create content for a global audience.

Pricing: Three pricing plans: Creator at $49/month, Pro at $69/month, and Business with custom pricing. Try Creator and Pro free with a Free 7-Day Trial.

Radaar.io

Radaar.io isn’t just a post generator, it is a social media management platform to write content, schedule posts for publishing, engage followers, and track performance. It is ideal for businesses to harmonize their social media presence.

With this tool, you can track and analyze how people are engaging with your posts and monitor the social media conversions, too.

Even AI-based post generation is easy with this tool. Simply go to AI Post Generator, share your prompt, choose a media provider and language, and click on Generate.

Once the post previews appear on the screen, choose the one that best resonates with your brand voice and audience. Edit the post if some changes are required. Add a location, chain comments, and tag profiles, and schedule the post for publication.

Best for: Writing social media posts with description and images, scheduling for publishing, and tracking the performance.

Best features:

• All-in-one social media management tool
• Writes posts, chooses an image, and schedules the posts for publishing
• Support six media providers and seven languages

Pricing : Writing social media posts is free with this tool; only signing up is required.

AI Sentence Generator

Try the AI Sentence Generator by Editpad in case you’re looking for a free-of-cost solution to generate social media post descriptions, captions, and bios.

To use it, provide a few keywords or a sentence about the image or video you’re posting. Its advanced AI and NLP will understand your prompt/post topic and keywords and write content accordingly in no time.

Interestingly, you can generate multiple creative sentences simultaneously. Then you can choose the one that you find most compelling. Whether you want to generate a single sentence or a whole post, you can use this tool.

Brainstorm ideas for social media post descriptions, bios, and other content. Use the generated sentences as inspirations and work on them further to develop your content.

Best for: Quickly generating sentences about social media posts for free.

Features:

• The tool has a straightforward, easy-to-use interface.
• Uses advanced AI and NLP algorithms to understand prompts and keywords and then generate posts accordingly.
• Perfect for creating short, engaging social media updates.

Pricing :Free to use

Canva

Canva is a famous graphics design tool that helps marketing teams and graphic designers create and edit social media posts in seconds. With pre-built design templates, users can design posts for all social media handles, such as:

• Facebooks
• Instagram
• Google+
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Pinterest
• And the list goes on

Instead of putting too much time into creating visuals, users can now focus on other productive tasks, such as research, description, etc.

Recently, the platform introduced AI features, such as AI Art Generator, Magic Design, etc., to further simplify the graphic design process. Instead of creating a design from scratch, use these features to generate ready-to-publish visuals.

Enter a prompt into the text input box that describes what type of visuals you want, and the Magic Design feature will generate relevant visuals. For example, if you enter “Generate an onboarding plan for Val”, it generates this output:

Once the output is generated, pick an image that seems to be the best as per your requirements. Then work on the image to improve it further.

Best for: Creating and generating images, videos, visuals, and other media types for all social media platforms.

Features :

• Drag-and-drop interface to create graphics easily.
• Pre-built templates to promptly design visuals for all social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and more.
• Millions of design elements, such as images, icons, fonts, and illustrations.
• Share your design file’s link with anyone for real-time collaboration.
• AI Art Generator and Magic Design to generate designs via AI technology.

Pricing: The free plan grants access to basic design tools for unlimited time and Magic Design for 30 days. Canva Pro, at $14.99/month, and Canva for Teams, at $29.00/month, unlock all the premium and AI features.

Pictory

Social media posts do include videos , too. Right? But how to create them? Well, one way is to record them and edit them, while the other is to use AI to generate them.

Pictory is here to help with all this. It is an AI tool that helps social media users and brands to create engaging videos from a script, text, blog post, or article in minutes. No need to put hours into creating video in the traditional way.

In addition, this tool embeds realistic AI voice, music, and matching footage in just a few key presses. You can even create short branded clips from long-form videos.

Best for: Creating comprehensive videos from text, blog posts, articles, scripts, or existing long-form videos via AI.

Best features:

• Create video, shorts, visuals, transitions, and voiceovers
• Can convert text, blog posts, scripts, etc., into videos
• Allows editing the video it generates
• Uses real-life AI voice overs in the videos
• Offers a large library of stock images and videos

Pricing: It is a paid tool. Get its Starter plan at $25/month, Professional plan at $49/month, Teams at $119/month, or Enterprise plan at a custom pricing.

Conclusion

In today’s fast-paced digital world, leveraging AI tools to streamline your social media content creation is not just an option but a necessity. The platforms and tools discussed—from Jasper’s versatile content generation to Pictory’s innovative video creation—offer powerful solutions to accelerate and enhance your social media strategy. By integrating these AI-driven tools into your workflow, you can save time, improve content quality, and focus on strategic growth.

If you’re ready to take your social media management to the next level, consider giving Viralpep a try. With Viralpep’s advanced features, including social media content scheduling and analytics, you can efficiently manage all your social media channels from a single platform.

Start your journey to smarter social media management with Viralpep’s 15-day free trial! Experience firsthand how our tool can simplify your social media tasks and boost your online presence. Explore our blog for more insights and tips, and join the Viralpep community today!

Managing even one social media account can be difficult. Maintaining your social media accounts requires you to multitask a lot since you must upload content, engage with followers, and manage activities in your blog, similar to top educational websites for kids. Thankfully, there is a better way.

Have you ever considered creating a social media calendar to plan your posts? We’ll show you how in the next 5 minutes. With the tips given here, you’ll learn to schedule your social media posts ahead of time, guaranteeing a steady flow of high-quality content. Our tips for creating a social media content calendar will help you offer consistent and high-quality content to your audience.

What is a social media calendar, and why is it important?

Simply put a social media content calendar schedules all your posts. It helps you establish a source for future post-planning, post-monitoring, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. This calendar design can be beneficial if you manage several social media accounts on different platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Twitter.

If you are still thinking, “What is a social calendar?” Think of it as date-and-time-specific plans that can help you post regularly with a unique voice, manage several accounts, and decide what to publish on each one.

How to create a content calendar for social media

Now that you know what is a social media content calendar, there are several applications you can use to create a schedule for your posts. These tools monitor your posts, produce reports based on past publication schedules and post cadence, provide visibility, and get your team to work together.

But they don’t do anything without instructions and input from you. And to give the best instructions to your team and tools, you must:

Have clear and easily defined objectives

The last thing you should do is start generating ideas on social media posts before defining your goals for putting them in the public domain. This is especially crucial for businesses, as your social posts should align with your organization’s core goals or immediate needs.

To have balanced goals, make them SMART. This is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

• Examples of social media planning goals that meet this SMART guide are:
  Increase Instagram followers by 25% in the first quarter of 2025: This goal is specific, measurable, and time-bound. Depending on your business’s resources and overall strategy, it may be achievable and relevant.
• Boost engagement rate on Facebook posts by 15% within ten weeks from 1st April 2025: This goal is relevant to customer engagement, time-bound, and measurable.
• Generate 30 new leads monthly using LinkedIn: This is specific, time-bound, measurable, achievable, and relevant, depending on your resources and efforts.

A clear goal gives you direction and metrics to aspire to. It also ensures that even if personnels change, new hires can easily slot in and keep their eyes on the ball. This will also prevent your social media strategy from swaying or hinging on the direction or efforts of any one employee. That way, you can avoid the risk of disjointed messaging being broadcast to your audience if you change your social media manager.

Know your audience

Since your goals rely on your audience taking specific actions influenced by your posts, you must know how to influence that audience. You can take either of these two approaches to get a more detailed understanding of your followers.

1. Use social media insights

   Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other major social media platforms have this feature. Although each platform shows slightly different information, social media insights tell you about your current audience.

   On Facebook

   • Demographics: Here, you can see the ages, genders, and locations of your followers.
   • Reach and Impressions: This tells you how well your post is doing based on the number of people who have seen it.
   • Page views: You can monitor the traffic coming to your Facebook page.
   • Engagement metrics: This section lets you understand the kinds of posts your audience is most interested in by monitoring their reactions, comments, and shares on each post.

   On Twitter

   • Audience Insights: This shows you the age, gender, language, and interests of your followers.
   • Tweet Activity: You can see the engagement metrics of your tweets and media, like the number of retweets, replies, likes, and link clicks each tweet has.
   • Follower Growth: You can track changes in your follower count over time using this tool.

   On Instagram

   • Follower Breakdown: This data lets you know your audience’s age range, gender, and the parts of the world from which they are reaching out.
   • Activity Metrics: Here, you can monitor when your followers are most active and post at those periods for the best visibility.
   • Content Performance: You can look at this statistic to know the posts, stories, and reels driving the most engagement and then tailor your other content accordingly.

2. Create online polls

   You can also understand your audience by simply interacting with them and asking them for feedback. Create surveys with tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms and share them on your social media apps for your followers to respond to.

   For the surveys, you can get more detailed information from your followers. But it’s best practice to keep your survey short to increase the chances of your followers filling them out. If possible, keep your questions to one page of a Google Form.

   You can ask your followers about their content and media preferences, pain points, interests, and preferred social media apps. If you want to get more direct responses with fewer details, use polls. Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter allow you to create polls on specific topics for your audience to respond to. If you want to make your poll more catchy, try Instagram’s question stickers.

3. Create buyer personas

   You can create detailed buyer personas after gaining insights from social media analytics and online polls. These personas are fictional characters representing your idea of the perfect customers for your business based on the information you’ve gotten from steps 1 and 2 above. You can sort them based on demographics (age range, gender, and location) or psychographics (interests, hobbies, values, and lifestyle).

   These personas will help you understand your ideal audience’s online behavior, purchasing patterns, and decision-making processes. Identifying these, alongside your audience’s challenges and needs, will help tailor your content and products to serve or influence them.

   A quick example would be your team creating a buyer persona of a marketing manager, Olena. Based on your insights, you can assume Olena is a female aged 25-35 living in a major city. She values work-life balance and is interested in productivity tools. Olena frequently consumes marketing blogs and industry podcasts. Active on LinkedIn and Twitter, Olena prefers short, actionable content and engages with webinars and online courses. Her pain points include finding trustworthy campaign automation apps that help her boost customer engagement.

   This persona covers Olena’s psychographics, demographics, traits, and pain points. By understanding the customers that Olena represents, you can more accurately define their needs and tailor your social media posts to address them.

   To make the most of these personas, it’s important to consider several factors when developing your social media schedule:

   1. Platform Preferences: Knowing where your personas are most active (e.g., LinkedIn for Olena) helps you prioritize those platforms in your scheduling.
   2. Content Timing: Understanding when your personas are most likely to engage (e.g., during work breaks for professionals) allows you to schedule posts at optimal times.
   3. Content Format and Frequency: Tailoring your content to the types preferred by your personas (e.g., short actionable tips for Olena) and determining how often to post can improve engagement.
   4. Pain Points and Needs: Addressing the specific challenges your personas face (e.g., finding effective automation tools) in your content can increase relevance and drive action.

   Which of the above is a factor to consider when developing a social media schedule? We’ll say all of them unless your project or goal suggests otherwise.

Develop a content strategy

You must have a content strategy to ensure consistency in your calendar. When discussing how to plan content for social media, a well-crafted content strategy will define consistency in your posts’ theme and branding. Before you can build this plan, you need to decide what kind of content you want to publish and what subjects you want to cover.

Create content pillars and themes

Build your content strategy around themes and pillars to ensure it has solid foundations and can withstand personnel and trend changes. These themes are categories that are rooted in your brand’s values. They will help your posts stay relevant across different social platforms.

Depending on your business values and niche, your content theme may be educational, promotional, entertaining, etc. These different themes serve different purposes and appeal to various audiences. For example, promotional themes underline product launches, holiday-themed offers, and membership discounts. On the other hand, if you prefer to post memes, show behind-the-scenes content, or jump on fun Twitter trends, your theme is likely entertainment-focused.

Content pillars do not focus on the big picture as themes do. Instead, they guide specific topics within a theme to ensure consistency. For example, workouts, nutrition, and well-being might be your pillars under the instructional subject of a fitness brand.

Choose your calendar tool

There are several digital tools, like Asana, Google Calendar, Trello, etc., for creating social media content calendars. Your choice will depend on your budget, posting frequency, collaboration needs, and expertise level. Irrespective of your choice, each tool listed here has pros and cons.

1. Google Calendar

   Perks: This tool is free and suitable for startups with limited budgets. It is also easy to share with team members and integrate seamlessly with other Google tools.

   Cons: Limited in terms of content-specific features.

2. Viralpep

   Perks: The tool gives you a bird’s-eye view of your social media strategy, from a daily basis to a weekly review. It also allows you to schedule posts to match different time zones and specifies collaboration, allowing you to define users’ access levels and roles.

   Cons: Professional plan does not let you manage teams.

3. Asana

   Perks: It has task management features and a project tracking option while integrating well with other tools

   Cons: It can be complex for users unfamiliar with project management software.

4. Excel or Google Sheets

   Perks: These software are highly customizable, so you can include as much detail as you need. They’re great for small teams or solo managers.

   Cons: They require manual updates and can become clunky as the content volume grows.

5. Trello

   Perks: It has a visual layout with boards, lists, and cards, is easy to drag and drop, and integrates with various apps.

   Cons: This may require a learning curve for those unfamiliar with Kanban-style boards.

Assign Specific Topics or Content Types to Each Day

When planning social media posts, detail specific topics or content types for each day. Let these posts be based on your themes and pillars. This action is strategic and keeps you consistent while ensuring you stay organized. It also guarantees that your audience will always know what content to expect from your page.

Managing your audience’s expectations isn’t the only reason to pre-plan your posts for specific days. This tip can also help you game the algorithm. Social apps are built to promote activity. Therefore, the algorithms will push content from more active accounts farther than those from dormant ones. So, regularly posting will improve your visibility on apps like Instagram and Facebook.

An example of how you can assign specific content or pillars to specific days can look like this:

• Monday: Educational blog post on Facebook and LinkedIn
• Tuesday: Instagram stories showing a day in the life at your company
• Wednesday: Twitter poll to engage your audience
• Thursday: Live Q&A session on Instagram or Facebook
• Friday: Fun behind-the-scenes video on TikTok

Review your posts to optimize your social media calendar

After you have your calendar up and running, don’t rest on your laurels. Use analytics tools like Viralpep to track the performance of your posts and identify which types of content your audience engages with the most.

Adjust your strategy based on these insights to continually improve engagement. Before you start monitoring your posts, define what success looks like for your social media efforts. Establish clear objectives and KPIs that align with your business goals. These indicators may be leads generated, engagement growth, referral traffic from social media, etc.

When you analyze your posts’ performances, you notice patterns. You can identify your top-performing posts and find what made them stand out. You can also compare results across platforms and make data-driven adjustments to your calendar. This periodic review and cycle of monitoring and optimization will help you build a strong, dynamic social media presence that drives meaningful results.

Conclusion

You need a content calendar if you want your social media marketing campaign to be successful. It is a powerful way to streamline your efforts, ensure consistency, and achieve business goals.

Having read this article, you are now well-equipped to create a calendar that will continuously improve your social media performance. But remember, you’ll do even better with continuous learning and adaptation. So, stay updated with industry trends, and be ready to pivot your strategy as needed to master social media management and grow your business.