Your Step-by-Step Guide to Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing was seen as a waste of time and resources only ten years ago.
Not as many people had smartphones, not as many social media sites were around, and e-commerce was reserved only for big-name brands. The internet has rapidly changed since, making social media marketing necessary for a brand to grow. Here’s how to use it to your company’s advantage.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing can be a foreign concept if you aren't cued into the internet's changing landscape. However, many original principles of marketing and advertising remain.
Only now, instead of physical flyers and email newsletters, your customers receive your company's content through various social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram. The tactics used to grab the customer's attention and build a consistent brand haven't changed all that much, but the channels in which content is released have evolved thanks to social media.
Why is Social Media Marketing Important?
According to Global Web Index, the average time spent on social media and messaging networks a day is 2 hours and 25 minutes. This is a serious chunk of time. You miss out on a ton of opportunities to expand your brand when you ignore social media’s impact on the world.
Also, social media can make or break a purchase. According to the Global Web Index, 54% of buyers use social media to research a product before purchasing. Effective social media content can sway a consumer into buying your product. Social media can help your customers stay loyal to your brand and reel in new customers from all over the world.
Steps to Improve Your Social Media Marketing
Your social media should connect back to your brand. If you have a strong brand identity, it will carry over into the content you make for social media.
Know Your Audience
Like branding, social media comes down to knowing your audience and appealing to their wants and needs. When you know your audience, you can cater to them through your channels. Even knowing your audience can decide what social media sites you utilize. Take into account where your user base spends their time and cater your content to those sites. If your consumers are young, sites like TikTok or Instagram are ideal compared to Facebook. Similarly, if most of your audience is female, Pinterest may be better than Reddit to connect.
Define Your Goals
Set SMART goals that are actionable for you and your team and define how you want your channels to grow. Don’t be afraid to put a specific number of followers you want and when you want to reach that goal. You may not make your goal right away, but you will make progress.
Come up With a Schedule
Social media can seem like a game of luck, but really, when you define your goals, you’ll see that it’s a game of consistency and creativity. Come up with a content calendar that details when you post, what you post, and where you post. This will hold you accountable and give you a clear idea of the weeks ahead.
Repurpose Content
You don’t have to have a fresh idea each day for each social media site. Take parts of your blog posts and change them into Instagram captions or a 15-second clip of your YouTube video as a teaser on TikTok. Repurposing content in a creative way can encourage users to interact across platforms and save you the trouble of thinking up a million and one ideas each day.
Engage With Your Followers
Social media platforms have the word “social” in them for a reason. They are designed for interaction. Engaging with your followers and subscribers adds a personal touch to your brand. Many big brands are taking advantage of this step by commenting jokes on various posts, hopping on memes and trends, and engaging with followers.
Look at Analytics
See when your content is best performing and why. Social media marketing is all about observing the data of your content and how you can use that information to improve and grow your platform.
Adjust Your Strategy
Once you’ve tested out the social media waters and seen what posts appeal and don’t appeal to your followers, go back to square one and adjust your goals to grow even further. Social media marketing is a cyclical process.
Content is Key
Nothing is more important than your content when it comes to social media marketing. Your content is what draws users in and keeps them coming back. If your content is consistent and well done, organic marketing will occur.
