Social media marketing is not an option. Any brand, business, or company that wants to succeed today must have a significant social media marketing presence. Social media marketing is often overwhelming for many marketers, though.
There are so many things to consider. From social media ad formats to social media trends and the fickle and ever-changing nature of the audiences – many marketers don’t know where to start.
While social media trends come and go, there’s been much research and testing regarding social media marketing. And these five pillars consider each of the fundamental aspects of social media marketing that you need to start with.
1 – Develop a social media strategy.
You will get better results if you carefully consider what content you post. A well-planned social media presence across all platforms must be consistent to be most effective.
You can get started by following these six steps.
Step 1 – Analyze your current situation.
Where is your brand at in terms of your social media presence? What are you doing right, what are you doing wrong, and what aren’t you doing at all?
Step 2 – Formulate objectives.
It would be best if you determined your needs based on your open and honest analysis in step 1. For example, what do you want to achieve via your social media campaigns? More followers? Marketing of specific products or services? More engagement? Use the SMART model here to ensure Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based objectives.
Step 3 – Develop strategies.
Having objectives is only the beginning. Once you know what you need to do, you need to formulate the strategies that will get you there. There are many different strategies to choose from, but they all depend on your needs and objectives. For example, you may need to prioritize insights on your audience, you may need to develop your audience, or you may need to focus on content types on formats.
Step 4 – Determine tactics.
Strategies are broad ideas and pathways, but tactics deal with the approach. What exactly are you going to do? Use of social networks, frequency of posts, the theme of content, and many other considerations need to happen here.
Step 5 – Actions speak loudest.
It’s all well and good having tactics, but without the practical actions to make them real, they don’t mean much. The ability of your staff, the amount of time you have, outsourcing, internal processes and systems should be considered.
Step 6 – Controls.
The final step brings us back to the first step. You’ve made some changes, introduced tactics and performed actions. And much like the first step, you need to analyze what went right and wrong. This involves KPIs, analytics, customer feedback, surveys, and reports.
2 – Social media platforms – choose the right ones
Once you have an established audience, it is time to choose the social media platform you will use for your marketing campaigns. Understanding which social media platform to use for your marketing can make or break your success.
It’s essential to note that each social media platform serves its purpose and can benefit your business differently.
Here’s a quick overview of which platforms can best suit your business:
- Facebook – The top platform for business-to-consumer transactions
- Instagram – Share your highlights here
- Twitter – Use this platform for customer service and searching for other business leaders in B2B
- Snapchat – Younger people use Snapchat for an average of 40 minutes a day, which can be beneficial to companies looking to reach a younger demographic
- LinkedIn – As the largest professional online network, it’s no wonder this is the most popular B2B platform
- Pinterest – A great way to share ideas and spread information
3 – Know your audience
You can’t post relevant content without knowing who you’re posting for. Market research, social insights, personas, and social media monitoring/listening will help you learn more about your audiences.
The purpose of social media monitoring is basically to follow whispers and gossip about your company in the shadows. Keeping an eye on social media and the web helps you understand how your brand is perceived and lets you get to know your customers better.
4 – Content creation
Creating content for your marketing campaign can be a creative and fun experience. However, it’s essential to tailor your content to your audience regardless of how complicated this process may be for some.
Many users experience viral marketing success because of their videos and graphics quality.
The best way to target your specific clients or business if your content is B2B is to take a professional approach. For example, creating articles, creating informational content, and using video and photography to market your business may be helpful.
When creating content for B2C, you may focus on your product, service, or expertise. Among social media users, video marketing is popular due to its ability to capture attention. There is a substantial growth in mobile video every year. Video is absolutely a good addition to your social media strategy as well.
5 – Focus on building your audience and optimizing it regularly
It is always a good idea to welcome your audience when introducing yourself. Provide all the information a potential client or customer might need on your social media business page.
Take advantage of all the opportunities that social media platforms offer to simplify the process as much as possible. If you start posting, you should remain active in the community so that the digital world doesn’t forget you.
If your page is inactive frequently, many social networks will de-rank it. So the more posts you make, the faster your growth will be.
Keep optimizing during platform changes. Consider implementing some of the methods you used to make a successful post if you made one.
It’s all about the journey your brand and the customer undertake. Make sure the journey is safe and meaningful by following the five pillars of social media marketing success.
