If you have been to the local market, you would have noticed how shopkeepers selling the same product or service try to out-do each other. From lowering the prices of their products to promoting offers, they are fighting every second of the day. With limited customer reach, they have no option but to prove themselves worthy than the other. Though the battle in the local market continues, it has taken over social media as well.
THE DEFINITION OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING:
Social media marketing refers to curating content for different social media networks to attract customers and drive traffic to the website. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most effective tools to advertise your brand and create awareness among the customers owing to its vast reach. If you are seeking deep penetration into the market, wish to connect with your customers and understand their buying tendencies, then nothing works better than social media marketing.
Businesses upon having understood the importance of social media marketing are trying out strategies that help them increase their social media visibility, so have been you. But do you know that besides the few known platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, there are over a hundred social media channels available and each of them requires a different strategy? Well yes, there are numerous social media platforms available that you can use as per your need but it is not necessary to advertise your brand on all these channels. The social media channels you pick depends on various factors like the type of business you do, the target audience, etc.
Thus, before starting with social media marketing, it becomes necessary to have a clear understanding of the basics like:
- Your social media marketing goal
- The audience you want to target
- The preferred channel of your target audience
SETTING YOUR GOAL :
Once you are clear about your social media marketing goal, the next step is to curate different content for the social media platforms you pick for marketing. Remember that every social media platform is unique, on some you can go about writing a blog while some employ pictures and others use videos. Therefore, you should have a different strategy for each platform.
There are over billions of users on social media, thus you have a wide market to reach. However, you are not the only one out there. Many other brands are trying to come up with a strategy that helps them survive the fierce competition. If you wish to stand ahead of others, then you need to employ a clever social media marketing strategy. Don’t know how to proceed? Listed below are some steps that will help you create an effective social media marketing strategy.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Similar to traditional marketing, social media marketing also requires you to know your target audience, their buying pattern, interests, etc. It is better to demarcate your audience according to tastes, preferences, location, etc., to have a clear understanding of your marketing goal and the strategy that you need to follow. Like, if you are selling natural beauty products, then your target audience would be high society women who prefer organic products. Once you are clear about your target audience you can research their buying preferences and what content will attract them.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM
Once you have zeroed upon your target audience, the next step is to choose the right social media platform. As previously told, there are several social media platforms but practically you cannot use all of them. If you are looking for some light chit chat with your customers and also wish to share some compelling content with them, then Facebook is a great option. On the other hand, LinkedIn is preferred for business networking and connecting with like-minded people. Each social media platform offers something unique. You can pick one according to your business preferences.
CURATE COMPELLING CONTENT
Readers while browsing social media come across numerous ads and promotions that they just scroll down without reading. Why? Simply because they didn’t find the content put up compelling enough to read. If you do not want the same to happen with your content then you must come up with an interesting idea that engages your potential customers. The content that you create should be informative and unique that makes you stand out. The goal of social media marketing is to create brand awareness among the customers and ensure that they share the information ahead. The more references you get, the more effective is your social media marketing strategy. Do not forget to use SEO as it will instantly enhance your content.
MANAGE YOUR POSTS
Businesses with an active social media marketing strategy are likely to witness success compared to those which post content once in a while. You need to be aware of the fact that there is intense competition out there and to remain ahead, you should have a proactive approach. To get effective results, one has to actively post content on social media platforms. So what should be the frequency of your posts? Posting once in a while can lessen your followers while posting frequently with no quality check can hamper your brand value. Hence, you need to keep a balance between quality and frequency. You can prepare your schedule and manage accordingly. There are numerous social media management tools like Hootsuite, Hubspot, etc., that can help you manage social media content.
ANALYZE THE RESULTS
Putting efforts without measuring the output is of no use. You must regularly check whether the posts that you are putting up are giving desired results or not. Measuring the posts on metrics like number of followers, shares, tags, reposts, tags, etc., can help you analyze their overall impact.
Social Media Marketing is a great way to boost your business and get customers. Employ the right social media marketing strategy and get effective results.
