From increasing your brand equity to improving customer experience, leveraging the power of social media and content marketing will serve your brand, your customers, and even more importantly, your bottom line.
Whether applying it to the business you manage or your career, it is important to know the fundamentals of social media marketing. Social media can help you capture and communicate the essence of your organization to those who matter most: your target audiences.
10 Social Media Marketing Hacks for Businesses
Social media marketing can fulfill a number of business needs. It can be customer-driven as illustrated in this Infographic from Idigic. Or, it can prove to be a powerful recruiting tool to attract quality candidates to your company. In either instance, having previous insights or experience before starting will help you use social media platforms successfully. For those starting at square one, here are 10 laws to live by when it comes to creating a sturdy (and strategic) social media marketing foundation.
Have Quality Content
It is a dog-eat-dog world and with excessive competition, you are bound to run out of ideas. Here, you need to realize that quality content is what audiences want. To grow your audience, you must deliver value through the content you create and share.
Content needs to be real, embody your brand voice, and provide value to the end reader. There are various strategies you can implement, but before doing so, you need to find out who your target audience is and what they need.
Once you have identified these, be the first one in your niche to use innovative ways of reaching out such as Instagram Giveaways, hosting events and broadcasting on Facebook live. Develop offline partnerships which expand your goals online and make sure to be strategic with opportunities that can support your broad business goals. Ultimately, don’t be afraid of trying new things.
Post Content And Continue Checking Its Status
One of the biggest mistakes brands make on various social media platforms is that they hit the publish button and look away. As a business, you need to avoid this habit. Most fans will engage with your content within the first hour. So, ensure that your brand responds in the proper manner and accordingly.
Don't hit publish and look away. Most fans will engage with your content within the first hour.
This means you need to respond on all platforms and every time, even if it is negative feedback. You can use negative reviews to spotlight areas of opportunity. This gives you the chance to show that you care about your customers, and it ensures that issues don't escalate to the level where your brand value gets affected.
Combine Email Marketing With Social Media
One of the biggest advantages of email marketing is that it works forty times better at getting conversions when used in collaboration with Twitter and Facebook. Just convert your social media engagements into mailing lists and ultimately your likes will turn into conversions.
Leverage The Buzz Of Online Live Video
The hottest trend online currently is Live Video. People are roaming around with their arms extended, streaming selfie footage and capturing their lives on camera. Now this Live Video is not out-of-the –box technology which evolved recently. Channels like Periscope have been around for a year.
However, with the introduction of Facebook Live, special attention is now centered on this. Facebook Live is the most recent live video tool designed by Facebook. It is a simple tool that is integrated into the mobile app, making it readily available to many people. All you have to do is push a button, and you are live. Interestingly, this tool can get an enormous audience as there are millions of people logged on to Facebook 24/7.
Clasp The Success Of Pinterest’s Visual Content
Many businesses are adding Pinterest to their social media marketing strategies because of the success its images bring. Keep in mind that images you pin must speak to viewers on what the product does and help them visualize the product’s usage in their life. A good rule of thumb is, images with 30% of text will get high engagement on Pinterest.
Focus On Data-Driven Decisions
It is important to make data-driven decisions. Since customers don’t make any linear purchase decisions, your strategy must direct them to the sales funnel. Unfortunately, this isn’t a one size fits all solution. The journey from attention to interest to a decision and ultimately action will be different for each customer.
As a business, you need to have a fair idea of where and how your tactics play a role in the purchase process. Also, you need to match your message and tone to that stage of the cycle. Using reporting tools like Google Analytics to make strategic decisions will help in creating the best conversion process for your leads.
Invest In Influencer Marketing
Organic reach has dropped considerably, and consumers are on the lookout for methods to block paid advertisements. So, the biggest issue businesses are facing is how can they ensure that their brand reaches consumers. The solution is influencer marketing.
Consumers trust influencers and their recommendations. They follow individuals who are similar to them or who they aspire to be. You need to find influencers who are a natural fit with your products and brand.
They will share their experiences with hundreds or thousands of loyal followers who trust in what they do and say. But you shouldn’t spend your entire budget on a single influencer having millions of followers. Approach influencers who produce quality content which is consumed by an engaged and loyal audience.
Use Analytics To Study Your Impact
It is important to understand the impact your social media activities have on your business. To do this, you need Google Analytics which will help you understand your customers better. There are also several tools available online which you can use to collect valuable data. With analytics, you can understand the impact of your social media activities and develop your strategy accordingly.
Attract Millennials
Various studies have shown that millennials are going to outspend Baby Boomers by 2017. So brands need to start investing now. Besides spending large amounts of money, Millennials are more digitally savvy. Even if they are not part of your current demographic, it is still imperative to find ways to reach them and build relationships.
Add A Human Value To Your Brand
To create a loyal fan base, and increase content consumption in the noisy world of social media, brands must appeal to emotions. One of the easiest methods to connect with consumers directly is through social media platforms. Here you have the options to communicate through live video, snaps, and reply to comments and tweets.
So, it is important to provide your brand with some personality. Get feedback and find out the elements that liven the experience and improve brand loyalty. And most importantly, make it easy for the user to share your content.
No doubt, the world of social marketing is dynamic, and this is what makes it one of the most exciting mediums. But there are so many new methods to engage with audiences, that it can be overwhelming for businesses at times. However, the good news is that there will always be individuals who lead the way. These so-called social media pioneers will share their learnings and provide courage to new businesses to tread on new paths and stretch their boundaries.
Author Bio: Susan Smith is a writer at iDigic who mostly handles content related to social media marketing and using the social media platform to leverage brand awareness.
