Do you know why social media marketing feels like a minefield? Because it is. For a brand on social media; you are one post away from the biggest blunder of your life. A blunder that could cost you most if not all of your clients. It could be an insensitive tweet that didn’t mean what it said or a photo on Instagram that had a double meaning or just out rightly bad customer service exposed by an irate customer that went ignored.
We are not trying to scare you; we hope we are scaring you. Social media while fun is serious business as it is part of digital marketing. Here are 9 tips to help you and your business with social media.
1. Grow an audience
The only way social media marketing will be effective is if you have an audience. This is just common sense. However, getting this audience can become a pain. Most people think it takes too long.
However, platforms such as Facebook have made it easy to grow audiences if you are willing to spend some extra shillings. All you need to know is who your target market is and you can simply set your targeting to reflect this.
Don’t worry if you do not have money to spare; this is the best time to reach out to your personal networks.
Use word of mouth and have people you know interact with your brand on social media. Ask them to share with people they know would be interested in your brand. Over time with good service, quality products and recommendations; your audience will grow.
2. Use links
In this day and age, everyone and anything should be online and this includes your business. There’s a saying that goes “If you are not online; you do not exist”. The first point of contact with brands today is done digitally.
What does this mean? For effective social media marketing you need to include links to your website on some of your social media posts. This will allow users to track you back and get to know more about your business. It also gives your business a more serious looks and people love serious.
3. Experiment, analyze then optimize
Social media marketing is not an exact science. Sometimes stuff works all the time, sometimes or does not work at all.
Experiment with different content styles; measure the effectiveness of each of these styles and finally use a combination that is working best for your business.
You should do this regularly since as mentioned above; some of these stuff might only work some of the time. This type of marketing is very dynamic and you need to be able to keep up with it if you expect it to work for you.
4. Be visual
Psychologically; people remember 65% of information accompanied by a relevant image. So making images and videos a big art of your social media marketing will work to your advantage. You can use infographics, product images with visualized discounts and even explainer videos on how your products work.
5. Mix up your content styles
It is not okay to be boring on social media. Your brand cannot afford it. People crave and seek excitement. What this means for social media marketing is to have a variety of content styles.
These styles can range from quizzes, riddles, games, and informational posts. You can also be funny and throw in one or two relevant jokes. Give your audience something to come back for every single time.
6. Have a social media plan
This seems obvious but you would be surprised how many people forget about it. If you want social media marketing to work against you; treat it like your personal account. Tweet or post as erratically as you want.
If you want it to work; be professional about it. Have a plan that communicates clearly what your business is about. Make sure your content and content styles reflect this about you.
