According to We Are Social and HubSpot’s Global Digital 2019 report, there are now more than 3 billion active social media users in the world. So why pass up on this huge opportunity to promote your business?
Whether you own a corporation or a local business, there’s no denying that social media can help build your brand’s online presence.
For one, it helps with your brand awareness activities. It also helps you connect with your audience and customers. Lastly, social media can boost your revenue.
And with that many social media users around the world, there is no better time to leverage social media but now. In fact, you do not need to learn the marketing jargons to get started.
Why Use Social Media for Marketing
In order for your business to generate revenue, it is important that your target customers know that you exist. This is where your social media marketing strategies come in.
According to Victoria Schmid, “Social media boosts your visibility among potential customers, letting you reach a wide audience by using a large amount of time and effort. And it’s free to create a business profile on all the major social networks, so you have nothing to lose.”
Thus, social media is integral in your business marketing strategy. Who would not want to reach thousand of people for free?
In fact, all you need to do (aside from setting up an account) to get started is to figure out what you want to get out of social media. What is your social media marketing goal?
Here are eight reasons investing in social media is a clever move for your business.
1. Be on Multiple Channels
What’s cool about social media marketing is that you can position your business on multiple platforms without breaking the bank.
It’s free to have a Facebook Page and LinkedIn Page. You don’t have to pay to have an Instagram Business Page. Unless you run social media ad campaigns.
However, social media marketing is not a one and done deal. Even if you are using automation tools such as Buffer, you need to spend at least 15 minutes per day to monitor your social media accounts. After all, you need to check your social media analytics to see which among your campaigns are working or not.
You also need to spend time to respond to inquiries and engage in the conversation.
While social media is a cost-effective way to be on multiple channels, it still takes time and patience in order for your efforts to pay off.
2. Interact With and Engage Your Followers
In order for social media to have a positive impact on your business’ , you need to use it to connect with your audience and customers.
Here are some ways you can connect with your audience and customers on social media:
- Respond to messages. Social media is not a one-way street. Use it to respond to your audience’s messages, answer their inquiries, or inform them on how to best address their issues.
- Use appropriate CTAs. Calls to Action tells your followers on what to do with your content. Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter? Like and share your post? Leave a comment? Let them know by using an appropriate CTA.
- Use the right hashtags. Hashtags allow your audience to cut through the noise. On the other hand, hashtags can help you reach a more (but relevant) audience.
Doing so can help you expand your brand’s reach and be visible to more people. Not to mention that this can help increase your following.
3. Create More Positive Posts
You might have come across the phrase “evergreen content.” These are content ‒ blog posts, infographics, videos, etc. ‒ that will be useful and still resonate with your audience even after three months.
However, typical social media content can have a short lifespan, although it varies depending on the platform. But if you have a social media marketing calendar, you do not have to worry much about it.
In case you are unaware, a lot of publications share and re-share their content multiple times a year. They have a social media calendar that helps them spread a content’s posting schedule evenly.
But what if your business belongs to a “boring” industry?
Here’s what you can do according to Matt Banner, “Consider solving common and persistent problems in your industry. Even better, try to post something educational and funny. Humor, shock, or awe are great emotions to target with evergreen content.”
4. Find the Balance in Your Content
Speaking of evergreen content, it is also important that you balance what you post on your social media channels.
We know. It’s easier said than done. After all, who would not want to promote his business, products, and services to thousands of people?
However, you cannot always think of yourself when it comes to social media.
Users are always on the lookout for useful content. So shoving a “for sale” content on their timeline is not a good idea.
Instead, you should find a balance between sharing promotional and educational content. By educational content, we mean how-to guides, video tutorials, news, and more. Doing so can help you build trust and rapport with your audience.
In order to find the balance in your content, you can practice the 80/20 rule of social media marketing. This means 80% of your social media posts should be educational and informative, while 20% should promote your business.
5. Cross-promote Your Social Media Profiles
One way to increase your following on various social media platforms is to make it obvious on your content. It is not just your blog, we also mean every page on your website (where appropriate).
You can also add social media buttons on your email newsletter. Not to mention that you can cross-promote your profiles. For example, promoting your Twitter or Instagram accounts to your YouTube viewers.
6. Host Contests and Promos
Contests and promos are some of the effective ways to make your audience directly involved with your brand. And they are some of the most effective, but under-utilised, social media marketing strategies.
A simple Like, Tag and Share contest enables your followers to engage with your content. And the more users you get to engage, the more audience it will reach.
That’s because social media engagement has a positive impact on the algorithm that determines how often and how far your content will appear.
You can be as creative as you can with your contests, just make sure that you adhere to the policies of every social media platform.
7. Give Away Freebies
In relation to hosting contests and promos, another way to solicit your audience’s participation is by giving away freebies.
According to Jomer Gregorio, “While giving certain percentages off from your regular prices and other discounts will prove valuable for your targeted audiences, the probability of them becoming loyal customers while your business exists can go much higher if you give lots of free stuff on a regular basis.”
By freebies, we mean non-premium content such as ebooks. Doing so can help you establish the value that you can provide to them and to your potential customers. On the other hand, you get to have their contact information, which you can leverage for upselling more premium products.
8. Learn to Listen on Social Media
Another way to expand your brand’s reach on social media is through social listening.
Be in the know of the latest issues within your industry, think of the keywords and topics that your audience are likely to talk about. That way, you can provide the latest and most relevant content for them.
This is possible with the help of social listening tools. There are also social media platforms and apps that allow you to receive notifications whenever someone mentions your brand name or any of your target keywords.
This can help you gain valuable insight on topics that matters most to your audience, as well as what content to craft and when to publish it.
Social Media Marketing Strategies: Conclusion
Social media marketing is one of the most dynamic online marketing channels available.
In addition, each platform has distinct features that may or may not be suitable for your brand.
That said, it is always important to find ways on how you can harness the power of social media to give your brand maximum exposure.
I hope you found some value in the 8 social media marketing strategies outlined above.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Please let us know in the comments below. 🙂
