Digital marketing has changed the marketing world. Business owners no longer need to queue to get the chance to put their brands in the newspapers or on TV. No one has to fight for a billboard spot anymore to make the market aware of their brand.
Digital marketing has led to the growth of businesses in ways that were not anticipated. Elements like real Instagram comments and Facebook shares will do much more for your business than the traditional marketing will. Over 90% of marketers use social media as a form of digital marketing. It is not in vain. It comes with so many perks. For instance, it is a cost-effective form of marketing; the reach is bigger than that of traditional forms of marketing, one can build relationships with the customers, and the return on investment is impressive.
You will, however, get to enjoy the benefits if you employ the following strategies in your social media marketing efforts.
- Come up with a game plan
Just like any other project, you will need to have a plan for social media marketing. Why is it so important? It will give you the roadmap for the journey: yes it is a journey. At this point, you should be able to set a limit for the amount of content you will be posting each day on the different platforms that you will be working with. What you need to remember is that for this to work, you will need to stick to the plan.
Social media marketing can be time-consuming and very involving. You can use calendars to set reminders in case you forget to do your daily tweets or share images on Instagram. The reason why it is essential to stick to the game plan is that your audience also expects consistency from you. The beauty of it is that there are plenty of tools in the market that you could use to schedule your social media marketing activities.
- Engage your audience
There is no way that social media marketing will give you the results that you anticipate if you are unable to engage your audience. It goes far and beyond customer service. It is through this that you will be able to establish trust between you and your customers. If someone comments on Instagram, asking for directions to your store or making an inquiry on your prices, make sure that the customer gets a response. If you fail to, they will stop thinking about your brand and find a different one to work with.
Also, the customers need to feel that your presence on social media is not all about you trying to make sales. They need to feel cared for, and in return, you will earn their loyalty. Do not focus too much on promoting the new product and forget that the consumers have opinions regarding a product, which they need to share and challenges that need to be addressed.
Note that you will also get negative feedback from the consumers once in a while. How you will address such is everything. Be empathetic and respectful while doing it, it will further build authority for your brand.
- Track and monitor your performance
Did you know that one of the most significant benefits of social media marketing as a form of digital marketing is that it gives you an opportunity to grow? Well, now you know. This will, however, be possible if you can measure your performance. There are tools that you can use here.
Understand what time the customers prefer to engage. With such knowledge, you will be able to adjust your activities on social media and align them with that of the customers. Tracking your performance will always go a long way in helping you identify what is working for your social media marketing efforts and what is not. From there you will be able to create better plans and improve on existing strategies.
- Do not generalize social media platforms
You need to treat the different channels as different entities. Most people make the mistake of treating them the same. If you have content in text form, for instance, it would be best if you posted it on Twitter as opposed to Instagram. Also, remember that you do not need to be on seven different platforms. Do not spread yourself too thin. Instead of posting the same content on the seven different platforms, it would be better if you worked with four or three and have enough time to create quality content for each.
It is also essential to understand that the platforms have different kinds of audiences. Pinterest, for instance, is more popular to the women, Instagram for the millennials, Facebook, on the other hand, will accommodate all types of audiences: everyone is on Facebook. Understanding your audience will help you create content that can grab their attention.
- Incorporate a call to action (CTA)
If you are not using a call to action in your social media marketing campaigns, you need to start now. Call to action is an effective way of grabbing the attention of your audience. Remember that the goal is to drive more traffic to your site, which will increase your leads, conversions and sales.
For it to be effective, you have to do it right. How do you go about it? You have to be creative. The good thing is that you can be able to test if it is working or not. Also, make your CTAs responsive to the different devices that your customers will be using: desktops, tablets or mobile phones. Your CTAs should also give the consumers value. What will they do for them? Is it helping them save money? Shed off some weight or make their jobs easier? You should be able to tell your audience what is in for them.
If properly handled, social media marketing will benefit your brand in many ways. You can never go wrong with the strategies above. Put them to the test!
