Social media and the internet have changed the way we live in many ways. Gone are the days when marketing and advertising were a one-way process where brands only needed to feed the market with information about their products and services. The technology has allowed the evolution from simple consumption to an immersive experience, making the market more empowered than ever.
It is no surprise that most businesses, both big and small, are now utilizing social media marketing. Social media can help you gain unique results for costs that are much less. Here are important tips to remember to ensure your success on social.
Establish Your Presence in a Social Media Network That Works Best For Your Brand
There are numerous social media networks to choose from, and each one has its own advantages over the others. You’ve probably seen a lot of brands on Facebook or Twitter, mainly because they’re the ones with the highest number of users. While it is wise to set up your presence in well-known networks for maximized exposure, it is important that you know which one would suit your brand and business the most. B2B brands tend to focus on building their presence on LinkedIn or Google+ while B2C brands pool their efforts to Facebook or Twitter.
Provide High Quality Content
Remember that your social media networks are basically personal territories for your customers, which is why they’re only interested in content that are valuable and relevant to them. The key is knowing what kind of information your market is looking for. Take Plated, for example. It’s a food and grocery store selling fresh ingredients that are pre-proportioned for your recipes. They use YouTube to show gastronomic recipes to inspire their customers or viewers to have ingredients delivered by Plated. They also provide interesting instructional videos (e.g. food hacks, DIYs) which gain many views from their customers.
If you can, you might also invest in an eye-catching aesthetic and design for your content. This helps make your content stand out from the vast sea of information there is online.
Focus on Your Community
What makes social media highly effective for marketing is that it allows small businesses to communicate with its customers directly. The big return on this strategy is there is a high potential to turn customers to brand ambassadors. Converse with the people who interact with you on social media and engage with influencers such as bloggers or thought leaders. This will help you grow a dedicated following and it shows your customers that you are hands-on when it comes to customer service.
Make Use of Advertisements
A small budget of 100-150 dollars per week for advertisements can already yield amazing results, so don’t be afraid to spend a few dollars to optimize online marketing and digital ads, especially on social media. You can allot a portion of your money to Google Adwords to make your website more visible on search engine results and develop targeted posts on Facebook or Twitter (among others) to amplify your social message. This goes hand-in-hand with providing valuable content, meaning you have to know your audience well in order to supply content they find valuable. If not, you are wasting ad dollars on content your target is not interested in. Find out the keywords they use which are relevant for your brand and know what kind of message makes them click.
Have Measurable Goals
Many small businesses still make the mistake of wasting time, money, and effort put into social media marketing simply because they haven’t outlined their goals. Goals are important in any business activity and you need to have detailed ones for your social media activities as well. Monitor traffic, followership, and conversions to make sure your efforts resonate well with your goals.
If your small business isn’t on social media yet, then you’re losing a lot of opportunities to grow. It is not too late to start building your presence on social. Remember these five tips to help you get started and you can be on your way to a more effective marketing strategy.