Leveraging the power of social media marketing can help businesses, big or small, build their brand awareness and at the same time elevate their customer base exponentially. Almost 96% of marketers today are utilizing social media to drive their business, and it has become an integral part of every business’s digital marketing plan.
Just like the audiences you are hoping to target on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to social media marketing. Therefore, it is crucial for marketers to understand the fundamentals of social media marketing, for them to craft out effective strategies to achieve their marketing objectives.
Here is a look at some tips you can utilize on your social media marketing strategy to improve your business.
#1 Create Fresh and Original Content
The content you create has a huge impact on the future success of your business: it affects everything from how prospects and customers perceive your company and how easily they can find you through organic search and social sharing. Social media marketing can come in various forms. However, it is crucial to focus on the quality rather than the quantity of posts. A fresh and engaging content can go a long way as it will entice your target audience to share it on their social networks, thus increasing the reach of the marketing message. Constantly having fresh content also means that the target audience can always look forward to new updates to keep them engaged. One of the few ways to excel in this is to study top industry leaders in the field and learn how they write and deliver content. It will also be beneficial for you to stay updated with the latest trends and relevant trending topics so that you can produce content that resonates with the audience.
#2 Share and promote your content
The beauty of social media is in its sharing capabilities and reach that extends across the globe, providing new opportunities to businesses. Businesses are no longer restricted by their physical proximity, as it is with a brick and mortar store. Having said this, spreading your message on social media requires some investing in ads or social media strategies to help promote your business effectively. Most of the social media platforms allow you to capitalize on paid advertising to enhance the reach of your campaigns. This advertising option is particularly useful for businesses that do not have a strong community or following online. When you pay for advertisements or placements, you expand your outreach further, outside of your current community of contacts in a rapid and efficient way.
#3 Analyze your results
For every content posted, you should make the effort to gather and study the results. Data is so important in the digital era, as it provides useful information for businesses to understand their every action or strategy. By analyzing this information, companies can then make data-driven decisions on their plans and also able to optimize their marketing campaigns, so that they can yield better Return On Investment (ROI).
#4 Understanding the Law of Listening
Success with social media and content marketing requires more listening and less talking. Customer service is evolving to match the rapid growth and development of emerging technologies, and today’s social media platforms are the perfect opportunity to capitalize on this trend. Brands spend lots of time attempting to make strong connections with their customers on social media. To establish this close relationship, you have to read your target audience’s online content as well as join discussions to learn what is important to them. By understanding them, you will be able to provide them with their needs and satisfy them, converting them into prospects or loyal customers.
#5 Repurpose Content to Suit Your Audience
Every social media serves a unique purpose and a distinctive audience. Understanding this is a difference between a good content marketing strategy and a bad one. It can also make your marketing efforts go more smoothly. Marketers should understand that every platform has its specific features and best practices, that is why the same content should be repurposed such that it will be able to harness the potential of each platform. Another good practice is to repurpose popular content and strategies that perform well. In this way, you can ensure that the content generated are able to interest the audience.
If you know your audience shares and engages more with certain types of posts, share more of them. It may require some time and effort to find the perfect marketing method for your business, but once you do, continue with it.
#6 Build your community
Social media is used to create brand ambassadors, drive traffic, and convert sales. Your community is one of the most important elements of your social media networks, or some people refer to as social assets. Having a large community will mean that every post you make or every content you share will have a higher chance of reaching more people. When you have your social media profiles, content, and marketing strategy, you should also focus on growing your audience. Many brands use their social media accounts as a method of customer support, which will generate more traffic. When they respond to people’s feedback and maintain an active presence on social networks through engagement with the audience on a regular basis, the community will expand organically. Alternatively, brands can also utilize paid advertising options to grow their online communities faster.
Social Media and the Business
There is no doubt that social media is growing more and more with every passing day. As it continues to change the way people communicate and the way brands reach out to their consumers, social media has become an increasingly important tool for companies. It is here to stay and proven to be one of the most effective tools for business growth in 2016 and beyond.
