While scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, we have all experienced the irritation of getting interrupted by ads. However, we see these ads so many times, that the message of the advertisement often gets memorized in our mind. But, social media marketing is not just about ads.
Social Media is undisputedly a major part of people’s daily lives today. When you run a business, it is important for you to become a part of people’s lives.
Social Media makes that easy and efficient to do. However, Social Media Marketing transcends the boundaries of simple advertisements. It adopts a much more personal and customer- friendly approach, while simultaneously marketing the brand name.
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
Social Media Marketing involves the use of social media platforms to market your brand, service or product. It is not just a way to post advertisements but also includes an elaborate strategy to optimize your content, generate leads and provide customer engagement. PPC advertising on social media platforms is also an integral part of digital marketing.
A successful brand focuses not just on building an audience, but building a community. Social Media is a very easy and efficient way to enable community- building. It helps with:
- Building connections with your audience
- Increasing Credibility
- Keeping track of audience trends
- Interacting with potential leads
- Increasing brand awareness
- Advertising your products
- Becoming relevant to people
Social Media is therefore one of the most important aspects of your digital marketing journey as well as an important tool to develop your brand image.
5 CRUCIAL STEPS BEFORE LAUNCHING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INITIATIVE
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Different types of people interact and spend time watching different type of content. Not just the content, but also the platform varies from person to person. The younger generation usually spends more time on Instagram, while the older generation is usually found on Facebook. Hence, it is absolutely imperative for you to know who your audience is. Tailoring your content according to your audience will ensure higher engagement rates.
SELECT A UNIQUE CONTENT IDENTITY
What do your posts do that others don’t? It is important to decide the character of your content so that people can recognize it even amongst the hordes of other content which they come across. A personalized design, color- coordinated according to your brand image, as well as content which is specific to your brand, is important if you want to make a mark on the far- reaching social media landscape.
ANALYSE THE DATA
When it comes to any kind of marketing, numbers are everything. In Social Media Marketing as well, it is important to analyse the reach of your content so that you know what people prefer and how they respond to various content.
Continuously checking your reach will help you determine for certain, what kind of content to post on which platform at which time. Keeping track of your content and audience response is of utmost importance in order to find the best possible social marketing strategy.
OPTIMIZE YOUR CONTENT
Finding something on social media can be equated as going on a treasure hunt in a dense jungle. Optimizing your content and profile will give your customers those clues which will help them find your content, before they find someone else’s. Researching keywords and updating your profile will help you to expand your reach and guide the audience to your page.
MAKE A SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR
Social Media is often all about timing. The algorithm demands you to post at strategic intervals of time. Posting too little as well as too much, affects the reach of your content. You have to give people something to look forward to, as well as ensure that they are not disappointed by the lack of activity on your account. Theme- based content according to current events helps you to stay relevant in people’s lives. Thus, you need to take into consideration various factors before crafting a workable and efficient lead- generating social media content calendar.
HOW DOES YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY DIFFER FROM PLATFORM TO PLATFORM?
THE ‘GRAM v/s THE ‘BOOK
When we talk about Instagram and Facebook, the first thing we need to realize is that there is a significant generational difference between the people who use the two.
Both these platforms, but especially Instagram focus on the visual aspects of content creation. Hence, it becomes very important to come up with engaging design and visually stimulating content ideas which hook people onto what you are trying to tell them.
Facebook allows users to post long videos, links, quizzes, articles and so on as opposed to Instagram which does have the option to post reels and other videos however Instagram users prefer short information tit bits as they scroll through reels and you only have the fraction of a second to grab their attention and make them watch your content.
Influencer marketing is also very important when it comes to Instagram, as it has a younger audience base who tends to follow trends set by influencers.
Facebook has a wider and more varied audience base than Instagram and its ad platform is extremely beneficial for marketing. Facebook Ads can be used on Instagram as well, and their ad campaigns effectively target the demographic that your brand caters to.
LinkedIn is a platform which especially helps B2B brands with their marketing. It definitely uses a more formal set up as compared to Instagram and Facebook as it is not just a social site but also an important source of information about brands and their journey.
Blogs, Case Studies, Client Success Stories and fun Company- oriented posts, all find a place on the site.
However, alongside the formal approach, a personal tough is also of foremost importance when putting out content. People will actually go through only that content which they can relate to. Hence, it helps if your posts talk about the achievements of your employees, or the brand journey or even a social cause which your company supported.
LinkedIn won’t explicitly help you to sell your product or service. However, it is the most important site when it comes to building brand credibility which will in turn increase your sales. It includes a host of different content formats which further enables you to experiment and figure out the best strategy for your brand.
LinkedIn Analytics is also a great built- in tool through which you can map the progress of your page and make changes accordingly.
TWITTER “X”
What was previously known as Twitter, and now as X, is also one such social media platform with a massive user base. X consists of what we call as ‘trends’ and this increases the relevance of a particular topic.
Researching trends and creating content around the same in important when posting content on this platform. Optimizing your X profile is very important to increase your reach and take you one step closer to the verified blue tick.
The verified accounts on the platform also have a significant amount of credibility which is why it is important for brands to have an efficient strategy for X. Use the Analytics Tool to assess your profile and make it better- suited for your target audience.
Twitter ads are also a major way of directing people to your account and increasing reach. While the visual aspect of your content is extremely important on Twitter, it is equally important to provide informative content with trending hashtags.
All this may seem like a lot of work when you are starting out with your brand. While an effective social media marketing strategy needs a lot of thought put into it, there are ways to help you achieve your marketing goals.
We at Abstract MediaVerse understand the importance of an affordable digital agency which can guarantee a carefully strategized social media marketing plan which can generate leads for your company.
Thus, we offer versatile services according to your brand needs. For more information, contact us today!
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FAQs
What is social media marketing? Social media marketing involves using social media platforms to display content and advertisements in order to market your product or service.
What is social media marketing strategy? Social media strategy is a plan created to align your company’s goals in order to enable marketing through social media platforms.
What does a social media marketing agency do? A SMM agency will provide assistance to your marketing goals by creating a strategy suited to your brand and making content which will increase your reach through social media.
What social media platforms should I use? This depends on your target demographic and what kind of content they consume. You need to focus on that platform which your audience uses the most.
What are the benefits of social media marketing? Social media marketing enables you to reach a large audience and find out what trends they are following. It makes your brand credible and increases recognition, as well as helps you to advertise your product or service.
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