With over 2 billion active users, it is no surprise that social media has become an outlet for businesses and individuals to flourish. In just a matter of years, online advertising has surpassed traditional means of promotion. People are ditching the weekly paper for news updates via Twitter, others are purchasing food simply to take an aesthetic image of it; regardless, social media is being used substantially. The question is, how can you leverage social media in regards to your business? Marketing agencies do a great job at working with brands and businesses to construct and execute social media strategies that will help boost a brand’s online presence and lead to potentially higher profit.
Always have a plan
There is a lot of room for creativity in social media, so much so that brands/businesses often get carried away in the spew of a moment. When it comes to leveraging social media in your marketing strategy, it is imperative that you have a plan in place. If you are unsure where to start, there are a few questions to ask yourself:
- How can I provide value to users?
- What am I looking to promote/boost?
- What platforms will I be posting on and when?
- Will I utilize paid ads? Perhaps, influencers?
These are all important questions to ask yourself when developing a plan. This will allow you to remain organized and ensure you are providing the best value to your consumers whilst simultaneously keeping your profit, lead generation, and impressions in mind.
Quality over quantity
Gone are the days where follower count mattered more than anything else and the number of posts you could pump out meant you were on top of social media. Quality over quantity in marketing pertains to two key areas- audience and content. In relevance to the audience, many are under the assumption that the more followers you have, the more authority you have. Although this holds some merit, it is not 100% true. There is a multitude of applications which allow you to purchase inactive or bot followers to boost the aesthetic appeal of having a plethora of followers. These followers provide no value or engagement. It is harder to gain a following organically and will take a longer period of time, however, organic followers tend to be engaging and interested in the content you put out, thus, helping you garner more impressions via shares or likes.
In accordance with content, quality will always hold the upper hand to quantity. Pumping out several posts within a short frame of time comes across as spammy and often has the opposite effect than what was perhaps intended. Content should be well thought out, provide value, and leave the user wanting more. One quality post a day is better than ten posts being pushed out for the sake of putting out content.
Always be engaging
A huge factor that tends to be neglected in social media marketing strategies is engagement. When adopting a new strategy, it is easy and normal to fixate solely on boosting and developing your brand/business, hence, a majority of people simply push out great content and leave it at that. In social media, you have to give before you can get. You may have high-quality content, however, if you are not putting your businesses name out there or networking with those with similar interests, your content will remain unnoticed.
Commenting, sharing, liking, and replying are all great ways to show you are immersed in the community, you appreciate the work of others, and that you are approachable to potential clientele.
Don’t just sell, have fun too
A huge blunder when it comes to social media marketing is just selling/promoting your product without providing any other content to users. Whilst the main goal of social media marketing is to leverage your audience, generate leads, and eventually turn those leads to conversions, strictly selling will lead to a disconnect. Individuals like brands/businesses that are relative, trustworthy, creative, and reliable. For example, posting a motivational quote or a funny pun on Twitter is a great way to show your audience you are a real, genuine person and not just a product.
Social media marketing has become a staple for brands and businesses looking to boost their overall presence and gain new clientele in the process. If executed correctly, social media can have a significant positive impact on a brand or business. Taking the steps necessary to ensure your social media strategy will provide value to users as well as you, as a business/brand, will lead to great success in the digital world.