Running a social media campaign? You need measurable results. Here, we share 5 easy tips that will help make your social media marketing initiatives a success.
Users spend upwards of 20% of their total internet time on social media. You know your company’s social media presence is important, but you’re unsure about how to define your marketing objectives when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and everything in between. Read these 5 easy tips for social media marketing success.
Each platform offers different ways to connect with different types of potential customers. For Instagram, the audience is likely younger and more creative. Twitter users can be clever, informed, and occasionally sarcastic. Facebook, the most popular social network (for now), is where you should put content that is more general in nature.
1. Connect with Users Across Multiple Platforms
Every person has an average of about 7 different social media accounts. That’s why you’re in hot water if your marketing strategy only works for Facebook. When creating new content, make sure you share it across all of your social media accounts, not just one. Keep in mind that you may need to tweak it in both tone and length, according to the platform. You should also note that some networks focus on visuals (images/video) as opposed to words.
Still, each platform offers different ways to connect with different types of potential customers. For Instagram, the audience is likely younger and more creative. Twitter users can be clever, informed, and occasionally sarcastic. Facebook, the most popular social network (for now), is where you should put content that is more general in nature.
Consider that your target market is comprised of different target audiences, and each audience segment will typically use very specific social networks in very specific ways. Do your research and plan your posts accordingly.
2. Target Social Media Posts & Updates To Fit Your Dream Client
Getting clicks, likes, shares, and driving website traffic are all important social media marketing objectives. But, there are over 2.34 billion people on social media across the globe today. Realize that not everyone who uses a particular platform is relevant to your business. Trying to target as large of an audience as possible isn’t just a time-drain; it’s a misappropriation of your budget.
Marketing dollars aren’t infinite; focus on finding and interacting with individuals who are most likely to buy your products or sign up for your company newsletter. Research popular social media users in your industry (often called “Influencer Marketing”) and reach out to them to develop relationships and increase the reach of your brand messaging. Doing this will help you get a better understanding of the different buyer personas you can develop for campaign targeting.
3. Keep an Eye on the Competition
Let’s be honest about something: if you don’t know what your competition is doing, you’re probably giving them an advantage over you. They’re likely keeping an eye on you and stealing all of your great ideas. Without competitor monitoring, there’s a chance that you’re missing out on important conversations happening in your industry.
Rigorous evaluation of your competition is a must when it comes to creating a winning social media campaign, where things can change in the blink of an eye.
Important Questions to Ask:
- Does your competition have more followers than you
- Which platforms work best for them?
- Do they spend any time directly replying to comments on their social media pages?
- Are they hosting giveaways that drive insane amounts of traffic to their pages?
Make a list of your top three competitors and spend at least one week tracking their behavior on social media. Evaluate what’s working and what’s not, and ask yourself what you can learn from them.
4. Create Specific Goals For Your Social Media Strategy
You probably realized when you were writing your business plan and mission statement that being broad or vague is not an effective way to formulate a business objective, let alone a marketing strategy.
The more specific you can be about goal-setting, the better. Setting realistic and timely goals for each one of your social media campaigns increases the likelihood of actually achieving them. Makes sense, right?! Ask yourself this, too: how are you going to measure how far along you are towards achieving these goals? Use tools like Google Analytics to choose the right KPIs (engagement rate, conversion rate, click-through-rate, bounce rate, session duration, website sessions…etc.) and set appropriate targets for each, BEFORE launching the campaign.
Make sure you’re also setting your social media marketing objectives that align with your business goals. Think of each social media campaign as a building block in achieving one of your business’s top three goals. If it’s not doing anything to help you get where you want to be, then it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
5. Create a Content Calendar
Accountability is a huge part of successfully executing your social media marketing plan. Brainstorm potential posts and topics (keep popular culture, news, and upcoming events in mind) and create a content calendar that schedules the posts for publishing, in advance, on specific days. If you’re interested in posting multiple times a day, determine the peak times of day that your audience is present and capable of engaging. For some businesses, that may happen to be on a weekend. Stagger posts to fit lunch breaks, popular downtime hours, and commutes back home.
You’re Ready To Put The Plan Into Action!
These 5 easy tips to social media success should have helped you put together a winning SMM strategy. If you still find yourself questioning the benefits of social media, or if you would just prefer to not have to tackle the world of social media alone, feel free to reach out to us.