Did you know that Facebook has gained more than 2 billion monthly active users? With 1.5 billion registered accounts, YouTube is the second most popular social network, while Instagram is seventh-ranked with 800 million users.
So, what do these statistics tell us?
The turbulent world of social media is growing at an astounding rate and shows no signs of slowing down. Given this fact, it’s not surprising that social networks have become the holy grail of every successful digital marketing campaign.
However, social media marketing is not about building your presence on a bunch of networks and sharing your content randomly to millions of people.
That’s not how it’s done.
To promote your business properly and attract new customers to your site, you need to have a solid social media plan.
Here is how to create one.
Choose the Networks that Meet your Goals
When entering the world of social media marketing, you first need to choose where to focus your social networking energy.
For starters, you need to know what your goals are. For example, if you want to boost your sales by 15%, you need to focus on raising brand awareness and making your content more attractive to your readers. In this case, devoting yourself to some less relevant tasks would only strain your time and resources.
Once you set your goals, you need to choose the right platform that will help you meet them. Bear in mind that, no matter how popular they are, not all social networks will work equally well for you. To get the most of your social media marketing campaign, you need to narrow down your choices and focus on those channels your customers use. Also, don’t forget to measure the effectiveness of your strategy regularly to see what works for you and what not.
Boost your Customers’ Satisfaction by Humanizing your Brand
To set themselves apart from their competitors, businesses need to connect with their customers on a more personal level. And, to do so, you need to show your brand’s human side.
For example, you could take your followers behind the scenes from time to time. Go live on Facebook or Instagram. If you throw a party, share the photos. Help them see what your daily office life looks like and who the real people behind your brand are.
Most importantly, listen to them and talk to them regularly. Use social media monitoring tools to keep up with their discussions about your brand and answer all their questions in real-time. It’s paramount that they understand that you’re a real person and not a chatbot.
To prove that you value your customers’ opinions, you could also create and share paid surveys online and ask them for feedback. Knowing that they will be incentivized for taking the survey, your customers will not only provide honest and relevant answers, but also share the survey with their friends. In other words, you will get the answers needed and, at the same time, boost your visibility and brand awareness.
Develop Awesome Content
Content is the basis of your social marketing campaign. It helps you boost your website traffic and customer engagement, as well as gives you the opportunity to prove how authoritative you are. This is exactly why the content you share online needs to be industry-specific, valuable, highly engaging, and relevant to the people reading it.
Now, even though articles are still synonymous with content marketing, they’re not enough to engage your customers. With the rise of AI and VR, people’s preferences have changed and they request content that is highly targeted and easy-to-digest. Precisely because of this, you need to refresh your content marketing strategy and start creating visual and interactive content, such as photos, memes, infographics, videos, quizzes, and podcasts, as well.
Work on your Consistency
Why do we trust brands like Coca-Cola, Reebok or Lego? The answer is simple- people love brands that add consistency, value, and quality to their lives. This is how you give your brand a unique personality your customers can relate to, boost customer engagement and loyalty and, above all, establish the image that will stand out in your target audience’s minds.
1. Have a detailed social media marketing calendar
You need to determine the best posting times and frequencies for each social channel you use. To remain consistent, you should consider using social media management tools that allow you to you upload, edit and schedule numerous social media posts simultaneously.
You can even dedicate a specific day of the week to a particular type of content. For example, you could share fresh news and answer your customers’ questions on Mondays. Wednesdays could be great for sharing your latest blog posts or curating industry-specific articles. Finally, make Fridays “fun days” and share fun content, such as gifs, videos, or your behind-the-scenes photos.
2. Build a recognizable brand persona
It doesn’t matter if you’re making a video, writing an article, or answering your customers’ questions on Facebook, you need to always use the same approach, tone, vocabulary, and setting. For example, if emojis and hashtags work for your brand, then be consistent with them. If your brand is playful, then your language needs to be playful, too.
3. Make your visual content recognizable
Always ask yourself if someone collected all the photos and videos you’ve shared, whether they would look like they belong together. If the answer is yes, you’re golden. But, if the answer is no, then you need to change your approach. To make your visual content relatable and authentic, you need to create your own templates and use the same patterns, colors, and filters.
Conclusions
Social media marketing can significantly boost people’s awareness of your brand, but only if it’s done right. Keep in mind that this form of marketing is not only about sharing random stuff to random people. It’s about targeting people really interested in what you have to offer and building a strong relationship with them.
Raul is a B.Sc. in Innovative entrepreneurship and has a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. While he’s not enjoying travel, football and great food, you can find him on Technivorz.com