Social media, which was once only for entertainment, has now become a crucial part of our lives.
And your marketing efforts should have something to do with social media.
In this article, we’ll talk about social media marketing — the why, the what, and the hows. Let’s start with an important question.
Why Social Media Marketing?
Apart from consumers getting their information and buying their stuff on social media, there are hundreds of reasons why you shouldn’t ignore the power of social media marketing.
Here are some:
- Customers are more receptive on social media
- Marketing through social media increases brand recognition and brand authority
- Marketing through social media increases inbound traffic
- You can reach a specific audience
- You can gain better customer insights
- Social media ads allow more targeted campaigns
- Social media marketing can indirectly improve your search ranking
- Social media improves brand loyalty
- Your competitors are using social media
- Your conversion leads will probably increase
And many more.
So, one thing is clear: you’re missing a lot if you don’t use social media in your marketing campaigns.
Which Social Media Sites are Best?
Social media sites come and go. You must know which ones are best for your campaigns.
Luckily, there are socmed sites that prove to be lucrative and growing. They also have the “staying power.”
Facebook is the most popular social media network. Founded in 2004, it now has more than 2.45 billion monthly active users.
Use Facebook in your social media marketing efforts to:
- Reach out to a wide audience (gen x, millennials, gen z, etc.)
- Increasing business-to-consumer (B2C) impact
- Increase brand awareness and advertising
Twitter has 330 million monthly active users, and businesses on Twitter often thrive fast.
Twitter is known for the massive engagement it offers. It lets brands hone their voice, as well as boost public relations and customer service efforts.
The Facebook-owned Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, and the platform is highly effective for marketing to millennials.
You can find influencers, marketers, business owners, models, bloggers, customers — just about anybody that can be a part of your customer base.
LinkedIn is famous for its massive network of professionals.
It has 310 million monthly active users, and it continues to be a viable venue for B2B relationships, business development, and even employment marketing.
Now, here are the tips you can use to maximize your social media marketing campaign.
Create a Social Media Content Strategy
This task is a challenging, multi-step process.
But as amraandelma.com points out, if you create a socmed content strategy that covers all your bases, you will see results — fast.
Buyer Personas
Who are your customers?
Create a list of buyer personas
Research Keywords
Learn how your buyers are searching for products and services.
SEO keyword tools help a lot.
Content Formats
In which format do they consume social media content?
Posts? Videos? Images? Podcasts?
Create a Content Calendar
The calendar should include what posts to publish, the person responsible, when to publish, and all other essential information.
Create Awesome Content
Provide valuable content that your customer can really use, not just something to promote your business.
Use Automation Tools
To bring more order to the chaos, use automation tools to manage social media accounts efficiently.
Helpful tools include:
- Hootsuite
- Trello
- Buffer
- TweetDeck
And more. Choose according to your posting and scheduling needs.
Engage More
To raise brand awareness and build a tribe of loyal customers, engage frequently.
Here are some tips:
- Answer comments and messages quickly
- Join groups and discussions
- Use videos and other interactive content
- Reach out — do not be afraid to send messages
This way, you bring more richness and value to your customers, helping them remember you as a brand they can communicate with — one that cares about their opinions and voice.
Check Competition
Social media networks also offer a great way to see what your competitors are doing.
Are they engaging more customers?
With what content?
What marketing campaigns are they using on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn?
You can even see how their users and audience are interacting with them.
Use the knowledge you gain to your advantage.
Take Advantage of Social Media
There are billions of people active on social media today — and that number is growing.
Imagine how you can tap into the platforms and start making connections with your audience and customers.
Establishing a well-planned social media strategy may be overwhelming, but the effort is all worth it.
So, start marketing on social media.