How to Experiment with Social Media Content Strategies

Start with a goal, not a strategy

I asked a client what they wish to achieve with their content strategy, they said

“I want to grow to X followers by the end of the year”

Okay, why?

“Well, I want more people to purchase my services”

So is your goal to get followers or to incentivize purchase of your services?

Perhaps attaining followers will help you achieve your goal (not always the case!) but don’t confuse that with the goal itself. Always find the very end outcomes you wish to achieve and then test strategies around that goal.

Here’s an example of working from the goal —> to the strategy for a free newsletter business

Try new things, but not all at once

As a relatively new creator, I’m always tweaking different ‘variables’ to see what might engage my audience. This includes altering speaking tone, trying new camera angles, more detailed info, sound design, etc. Although trying new things is a great way to stumble upon successful content, we don’t want to risk being a one hit wonder.

We need to identify the inputs which are responsible for our experimental success, so we can replicate results in our future content. This is a skill and is developed over time but you don’t need to be a data analyst to identify what works and what doesn’t!

My advice is the following: implement only one or (maybe) two distinct changes with each iteration of your content. When you alter a low number of variables, it becomes easier to distinguish what caused the shift in engagement. On the flipside, if you implement too many changes at once, it becomes difficult to link the variables to the results they drove.

Be nothing but bold

If you aren’t getting the results you are looking for, it can feel like you are going insane but then again, you might really be.

You need to make bold changes and consistently step out of your comfort zone when making content. You don’t have anything to lose, especially if you haven’t formed a strong brand identity, or solidified a delicate relationship with your audience.

And yes, it takes time to find a successful content strategy. Sometimes months, maybe years to really figure out what consistently works. And even then, your methods are susceptible to going out of trend or losing effectiveness over time. Even the most consistent creators are eventually prompted back to the drawing board. So don’t waste your time, or drive your yourself insane! Be bold when developing a content strategy.