Today’s brands that don’t take advantage of social media marketing’s widespread reach and sway are missing out on a significant digital channel for interacting with consumers. According to Hootsuite’s 2022 Social Trends Report, 80% of marketers agree that social media is worthwhile and expect a return on investment (ROI) because of the valuable customer insights it can provide and the way it can boost other marketing activities.
When used correctly, social media marketing can boost a company’s search engine rankings, boost website traffic, and boost conversion rates, all of which are welcome developments for any business.
If you don’t know where to start, it will be difficult to develop a successful social media strategy. It can be difficult to decide which social media platform is best for your business’s online presence between Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.
The success of your social media strategy depends on what you hope to accomplish with it
It is crucial to be able to connect the dots between your social media channels and the overarching goals of your strategy. You shouldn’t adopt a channel if you can’t justify why or how it will help you reach your objectives.
Increase your brand recognition through the use of social media
In order to reach the largest possible audience, your first step should be to choose popular, well-established channels. If you’ve done your research and determined that advertising on a network like TikTok, for instance, would help you resonate with a younger and visual demographic, then you should keep popular and niche platforms in mind.
Boost your lead generation efforts via social media
In order to attract qualified customers, marketers rely heavily on social media. Use targeted marketing to bring in qualified leads that can be nurtured through your sales funnel and eventually turn into customers. Sixty-one percent of marketers cited social media marketing as their top method for generating new leads, per eMarketer’s survey.
In other words, what platforms does your ideal customer frequent?
After deciding which social media channels will help you achieve your goals, you should think about where your target audience spends time online. Having a company Instagram account might be pointless if your target audience consists primarily of women over the age of 70. Similarly, if you’re only interested in reaching men, you might not have much to gain by advertising your business on Pinterest.
An in-depth understanding of social media demographics is essential for crafting a social media strategy that will bring you the best results. These data-driven insights will help you craft a strategy and select the most effective channels to reach your target audience with a personalised message that increases your chances of conversion.
The methods your rivals are employing
Consider your competitors’ presence on social media platforms just as seriously as you do the channels your target audience uses. With this information, you’ll have a standard by which to evaluate future developments in the market.
Inquire as to the nature of the content they share. Is content developed for each platform? What is the frequency of its updates? How many people engage with their posts? If you want to guarantee the success of your strategy, you should take a look at how active your competitors are on social media and how well their followers engage with what they post. Learn how your rivals are faring in the eyes of your target audience by using our competitive analysis tracking tool.
In other words, what is it that you plan to make?
That’s a big deal, because there are many different kinds of content out there, and some of them might not mesh well with your company’s aims and brand. Further, some social media platforms will be better suited to the presentation of certain types of content than others.
Post industry news, company announcements, and white papers
These types of content are often favoured by the business-to-business (B2B) crowd, who congregate primarily on LinkedIn and other similar sites. If you use Twitter for business or have a personal account that you use for work, you can find and interact with other industry professionals by sharing relevant content.
Putting together a video to be shared
For a younger demographic, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat could be good options for sharing your short-form videos. Facebook and Twitter can also generate high levels of engagement if the content is longer and more broadly appealing.
Use images if you want to spread information visually
If you’re a business-to-consumer company selling a fun or interesting product, you should definitely consider promoting your content on Pinterest. Shopify claims that its users frequently experiment with the platform to see what works best. Creating an aspirational visual brand story is a breeze on Instagram.
Publish your own editorial content if you feel so inclined
By publishing an article on LinkedIn’s publishing platform, businesses can gain exposure to LinkedIn’s massive user base of nearly 800 million members and establish themselves as reliable industry leaders.
How many channels should I be overseeing?
In case you didn’t know, many companies advertise on multiple social media sites. Finding the sweet spot when promoting your brand can be challenging. You can dilute the effectiveness of your efforts if you try to be present on too many different channels at once. But if you only use one, your brand awareness and exposure could be diminished.
By planning ahead and scheduling posts with a social media calendar and scheduling tool like Buffer, you can save time and make the most of your resources.
Learn how to make your company a hit on social media
You can learn both the basics and the nuances of social media marketing at DMI’s Social Media Marketing course. Engage, nurture, and convert customers by learning how to conduct social research, making engaging social content, developing a social media strategy, and diving into the most important social platforms. You can begin your success on social media right now if you enrol.