You already know that social media is a budget-friendly and effective way to bring attention to your brand, name, or company. But if you’re new to this kind of marketing strategy, you’re probably wondering how subscribers and likes transfer to ROI. Well, social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have billions of worldwide users meaning that it’s an excellent opportunity to connect with a target audience. But you can’t just create several profiles and start posting just about anything thinking this will garner proper attention.
As experts in the field already know, social media marketing requires careful planning and development and here are just 10 effective strategies to help you out.
#1. Content is King
Once you’ve registered on one or more platforms of your liking, you’ll need to figure out the nature of the content that you’ll be posting. You need to determine the voice, tone, and message of your brand persona as these characteristics need to be in tune with your target audience. To figure this out, you’ll need to carry out a substantial amount of researching beforehand. That can involve researching other brands, be conversing with your audience, and even conducting online surveys. Once you have your facts and figures straight, you’ll be able to determine who your customers truly are and what kind of content they like.
#2. Engagement is just as important
While having great content is bound to attract a broad audience, engaging with your audience is just as important. Sharing content and encouraging readers to respond to your posts is now considered an essential component of online marketing, and that we will see more of shortly. In fact, Werner J. Reinartz, a Professor of Marketing at the University of Cologne, Germany explains in his research article published in the AMA Journal of Marketing that customer engagement is relevant for all aspects of marketing from product development to customer relationship management.
Now that you have several social media profiles attracting a huge number of potential clients make sure to link these profiles to your website and vice versa. You can do so with linking, create social media buttons, or by sharing content. You also need to make the content on your main web page easy to share and read on social media and ask your customers kindly to share content via their social media profiles. It’s all about making connections.
#4. Find influencers
Influencer marketing today’s most modern business strategies and for good reasons also. A recent study conducted by the influencer marketplace Tomoson found that companies are making $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencers. Since starting from level zero with social media marketing is tough, finding influencers that will spread your word and link your social media profiles will make things a bit easier. Make sure that the influencers you are contacting are the right kind of niche and that they have a following relevant to your business.
#5. Messaging apps
Chatbots are no longer being visible as those annoying and unnecessary windows that most website visitors choose to ignore. Research conducted in the past year shows that messaging apps are becoming more popular than social media apps. That is also why more and more businesses are introducing chatbots. However, don’t feel discouraged by this as social media apps are still highly popular among customers. In fact, many companies today utilize Facebook Messenger to provide client services, and you should consider this as well. While you’re using the benefits of messaging apps, make sure to work out a backup plan for instant messaging with your audience.
#6. Don’t forget live video content
While blogger outreach was a popular way marketers reached target audiences, the attention now may be turning to video rather than written content. As it turns out, live video sharing is among the most popular types of content today. According to the latest research by Social Media Examiner, 14% of marketers have experimented with live videos last year while an impressive 43% plan to include live streaming this year. To stay ahead of the game, it is important that you make any video content on social media such as Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat as this is more likely to capture your audience’s attention. However, keep in mind that the best place to post live-streaming videos is where your audience already is.
#7. Consider paid content
Most businesses struggle to create organic content especially because of social media algorisms. But luckily you have the option of paid content which internet users love. You need quality and engaging content to attract customers, and one way you can do that is by investing in it. Venture Beat reports that this type of marketing strategy is obviously worth it since Twitter’s ROI increased by 8% last year thanks to paid content. Make sure that the content you are paying for is of high quality. There’s nothing worse than investing in content that is lackluster and unlikely to attract anyone’s attention.
#8. Facebook to play it safe
If you don’t have the time, money, or will to invest in different social media platforms for your marketing strategy, then stick to Facebook to play it safe. Most (93%) of marketers rely on Facebook for their ROI. While experts were predicting that Facebook might lose its appeal due to the rise in flash platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, it always manages to stay ahead thanks to the new features Facebook introduces every year. Facebook life and messenger bots are just two features which have attracted marketers in the past year, and we can expect the platform to keep up with the ever-changing trends this year as well.
#9. Automation won’t work
Automation is a necessary tool for any online business, but it only won’t work with social media marketing. Instead, turn your focus on social media management. As we already explained it, users are expecting organic content on social media and anything that feels robotic will make them turn away from your brand quicker than you know it. Interact with your consumers, create social campaigns, and keep it personal because that is what social media is.
#10. Instagram to sell your products
Facebook may be the safest marketing platform for those selling services, but Instagram may work better for product sellers. Instagram has just recently introduced a new feature called Instagram Shopping that can make it easier for your to reach more customers. On the other hand, customers will likely find this feature handy as searching for a favorite product by scrolling down on too many pages takes too much time. You’ll get a chance to highlight the best products through particular posts and link customers to product features and shopping pages.
Conclusion
Social media marketing requires quite a bit of research, development, and resources. But the effort is worth it considering that you’ll find a significant number of your customers on social media. However, planning a social media marketing strategy isn’t easy. That’s why we’ve provided you with 10 tips that are currently trending and helping businesses across the globe become noticeable. Make sure to utilize these tips in your strategy, and we’re sure you’ll see the time and effort translate to big bucks in no time.
