The essence of marketing lies in positioning content where consumers allocate their time – a significant portion of which is devoted to social media.
Social media has emerged as a potent instrument for digital marketers. It’s utilized by brands of all sizes to propel various aspects of their operations, encompassing sales, marketing, customer service, and online sales.
Marketing teams globally are striving to enhance their proficiency in social media marketing. This mode of internet marketing leverages social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as promotional tools.
According to a 2020 study by Sprout Social, 89% of participants affirmed that they purchase from brands they follow on social media. The study further revealed that marketers are yet to fully exploit social data. While customers are present, there’s still room for marketers to refine their utilization of this tool.
As for who employs social media for marketing, any business stands to gain from social media marketing. However, certain businesses are specifically designed for marketing on social platforms. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are geared towards B2C audiences, while LinkedIn is ideal for B2B buyers. Nonetheless, any business can leverage any platform, as it ultimately boils down to where the buyers are and their preferred content consumption method.
Many direct sales businesses have honed their skills in content creation and audience building. Companies like Pampered Chef, Park Lane Jewelry, and LuLaRoe utilize social media to display their products. LuLaRoe, which boasts hundreds of thousands of social media followers, was recently spotlighted in a four-part documentary on Amazon Video. However, its popularity has waned over time due to dubious business practices.
Formulating an effective social media marketing strategy can pose a challenge. It’s a skill that warrants as much thoughtful planning and execution as any marketing campaign or tactic.
Social media marketing tips
In the early stages of social media marketing, these accounts were typically managed by junior employees. The prevailing notion was that being an avid social media user was sufficient to excel as a social media marketer. During this period, younger employees had a good grasp of social media. Presently, the average age of a social media manager is nearly 40, with substantial marketing experience under their belt.
Effective social media marketing managers also need to be adept marketers. It’s crucial to comprehend how a strategy like social media can be incorporated into an engagement plan, boost sales, and maintain a loyal customer base.
Here are 12 tips for social media marketing aimed at helping businesses achieve their desired outcomes.
- Establish Goals and Objectives The first step towards enhancing the success of social media marketing is to set clear goals and objectives for using these platforms. It’s advisable to align the goals of this strategy with the broader business objectives. Having these goals in place will also facilitate the measurement of the effectiveness of the social media marketing initiatives.
Businesses should adopt SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Document these goals and use them as a roadmap when executing all campaigns. These could encompass the following:
- Boosting social media-driven web traffic by 25% over the next half-year;
- Achieving a 15% increase in lead conversions from LinkedIn in the upcoming month; and
- Attracting an additional 100 followers from the forthcoming Instagram campaign. Ensuring that these goals are in sync with the overarching marketing strategy will effectively highlight the impact of social media.
- Pinpoint the Target Audience It’s advantageous for companies to gather data about their existing customers. This data sheds light on who is making purchases and how they are engaging with the brand online.
Upon identifying the target audience, marketers should investigate which channels these customers are most likely to frequent. For instance, a fashion industry company is likely to connect with their target audience via Instagram. Conversely, a SaaS company with a more business-oriented customer base might find LinkedIn more effective. Given that each social platform attracts a distinct audience, businesses should allocate their time based on where their target audience is most active.
- Choose Appropriate Platforms Different audiences gravitate towards different social media platforms, hence it’s not advisable to launch social media marketing initiatives on all channels simultaneously. Marketers should initially focus on mastering a few social media channels. Key platforms for businesses encompass Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, while others like Pinterest and YouTube also hold significance for advertising or promotional activities. Each platform has its unique market position and use cases.
For instance, Twitter is an excellent platform for disseminating thought leadership and obtaining real-time information, albeit with a 280-character limit. LinkedIn is a hub for business professionals, making it an ideal platform for reaching decision-makers. Facebook and Instagram are adept at visual storytelling through images, videos, reels, and live feeds. Once a substantial follower base is established and operations are scaled on a few social channels, organizations can contemplate venturing into new areas.
- Formulate or Align with a Content Strategy The content that businesses post on social media should be meticulously planned. Marketers shouldn’t post content merely for the sake of posting. Social media is a conduit through which brands can broadcast their messages. When a prospect or customer encounters consistent messages and promotions across various channels, it constitutes a multichannel marketing strategy.
While crafting timely and pertinent posts is always beneficial, organizations should ensure that content published on other channels can be repurposed for social media. When a new blog is published, businesses should promote it on social media multiple times. Marketers should distribute promotional content sporadically over several weeks to maximize returns. The same principle applies to new offers and gated content. When a new promotion is launched, marketers should ensure to share that content. Similarly, when a new webinar is scheduled or a white paper is published, businesses should conduct a multi-week promotional campaign to attract more viewers.
- Maintain Consistency in Content Publication The worst mistake a social media manager can make is inconsistency. If resources are being invested in a selected platform, it should be treated seriously and supplied with a steady stream of content. People follow a brand or a page because they appreciate the shared content. Regular posting not only fortifies the brand but also fosters customer loyalty. Ideally, followers will share and discuss the brand, thereby generating more word-of-mouth marketing opportunities.
Consistent content creation replenishes the posting schedule. However, when the posting schedule depletes and there’s a dearth of new content, it’s beneficial to revisit past successful posts, recycle the most relevant ones, and infuse them with a fresh perspective. This is also an opportune time to engage personally with the audience to cultivate and reinforce individual relationships.
- Leverage Visuals to Narrate a Story While text-based posts serve as an effective medium for disseminating information, the incorporation of images and videos can significantly enhance engagement. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook offer built-in features for video creation, eliminating the need for costly production equipment. However, these tools should be employed judiciously, ensuring that videos posted on a company’s page maintain a professional standard.
Numerous graphic design tools are available to aid in the production of high-quality imagery for social media. While having a creative flair is beneficial, tools like Canva and Visme simplify the process of creating appropriately sized images for social platforms.
- Track Conversations and Foster Relationships Followers often interact directly with brands on social media channels, presenting a prime opportunity for social media managers to cultivate robust relationships with their audience. Occasionally, consumers may express negative reviews, but more often than not, they have positive experiences to share. In either scenario, and many others, a brand garners more respect when they actively respond and engage.
It’s also advantageous to utilize social listening tools to monitor, analyze, and respond to online conversations. At times, users may discuss a brand without directly messaging or writing to them. Having social listening tools in place enables businesses to discern where people are and what they’re discussing.
Here are some useful tips for nurturing these relationships on social media:
- Respond to comments and direct messages;
- Retweet and repost relevant content and successes;
- Utilize social media for customer service inquiries and respond to reviews and complaints; and
- Ensure timely responses.
- Employ Scheduling and Automation Tools Balancing community engagement, relationship building, and content creation can be a demanding task for marketers. However, time can be saved by utilizing scheduling and automation tools.
Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Sprinklr empower marketing teams to plan, schedule, and monitor their social performance. It might be optimal to plan future posts by creating and scheduling them in advance. This approach allows social media managers to devote less time to crafting individual posts and more time aligning with the content strategy.
Additional automations, such as chatbots, are available for social media tools. These can dispatch automated messages when someone contacts a brand. These messages can guide users to FAQs or other support services while they await a response from the company.
- Keep Track of Trends In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, it’s crucial for marketers to stay updated with the latest trends. Each social media platform continually refines its content presentation, frequently altering algorithms and posting guidelines. Keeping pace with these changes allows marketers to strategically position their content before the right users.
Beyond the technological aspects of shifting social media trends, there are also content trends to consider. Currently, TikTok is setting numerous trends that marketers and advertisers leverage to resonate more effectively with their audience. Other notable trends include:
- Live video content;
- Use of messaging apps for customer communication;
- Augmented reality;
- Instagram stories and Facebook Reels; and
- Advertising.
- Keep an Eye on the Competition Monitoring the competitive landscape is another strategy to stay ahead. By observing the competition’s actions, marketing managers can gauge whether they’re keeping up with market trends. They can also learn how competitors engage with their audience through their channels.
If a competitor has a larger following and higher engagement, it’s worth examining their strategy to understand what sets them apart. Conducting a competitive analysis can help identify what’s working and what’s not.
- Leverage Analytics Each social media platform offers its own native analytics. Metrics such as follower count, post engagement, and optimal posting times can be tracked to inform more effective social media marketing strategies.
Utilizing analytics can also help detect any shifts in the primary audience. This can reveal which platforms a marketing team should use to engage their target buyer personas and provide information about the products and services consumers are interested in.
Learn more about data analysis here.
- Engage in Promotion and Advertising Social media advertising can enhance the efficacy of social media marketing initiatives. Social media targeting is sophisticated, allowing campaign managers to micro-target their audience using explicit and implicit details. Marketing managers can also use social media tracking pixels on brand websites to expand their audience.
Advertising on social media can boost website traffic, convert readers into qualified leads, and facilitate the sale of products or services.
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