Social media marketing guide: what businesses should note about social media marketing
Gone are the days when social media was mostly used for personal reasons and making social connections. Social media offers a reach that cannot be achieved from a lot of sources.
With about 3 billion active users of social media, organizations are provided with nontraditional means of relating with clients. This article highlights the role social media plays in the marketing activities of organizations. Measures suitable for maximizing the avenues for marketing created by social media are also discussed. Let’s start by introducing social media marketing.
What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing can be simply described as all activities embarked on to reach out to customers on social media. Social media marketing is carried out with the aim of driving sales and improving brand recognition and website traffic.
The goal of every form of marketing is to engage and convert the target audience. This can be achieved through the different social media platforms in different ways which include publishing relevant content on the different social media platforms. Social media marketing activities also include analyzing results and running ads.
Major social media platforms applied by organizations include Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn.
When social media marketing started, organizations focused mostly on publishing content to attract their target audience. Now social media marketing activities have extended to studying consumer behaviour and product testing to capture the reception of the target audience.
Why social media marketing is important
As mentioned above, social media provides a wide audience which can be targeted for marketing activities. Social media is a good marketing ground for small business, as well as large organizations, for reasons which include the following.
Awareness
An organization that has engages in basic social media marketing activities would reach much more of its target audience, in comparison to an organization that has no online presence. Organizations are empowered to reach their target audience with social media.
Authenticity
Gone are the days when customers cared very little about the personality of an organization. Nowadays, customers build relationships with brands and connect with those with an authentic personality that is relatable.
Social media provides an avenue for organizations to create an authentic personality. With social media, organizations can establish a tone and voice that communicates the brand image expressly.
Brand authority
Organizations with active social media profiles where important information is updated and the brand image is properly represented is typically more appealing than its counterparts. The average person seeking an organization for a product or service is bound to check online and will be impressed by an organization that has carries its audience along on social media.
Support
Customer support has gone far beyond calling designated agents, with social media. Social media provides a more direct path of communication between brands and customers. Resolutions are made and a better relationship is built between the organization and its customers.
Developing a social media marketing strategy
The use of social media for marketing must follow a plan for it to be effective. Social media strategies must also be carefully created for them to be effective. The goal of social media marketing is engagement which could lead to conversion. Proper engagement can only be achieved when marketing activities are based on a proper strategy.
Effective social media marketing can be developed in a stepwise process, with the following steps.
Create a social media goals and objectives of social media marketing: This is important to begin by highlighting the highlighting the purpose of social media marketing for the organization. That way, other activities will be properly directed.
Audit existing social media accounts: This should be the next step to identifying existing accounts and allign them towards the highlighted goals.
Define the target audience: Every organization has a target audience. Identifying that target audience is a crucial step in creating an effective social media strategy. The demographics of the target audience should also be clearly stated.
Create a social media marketing mission statement: This mission statement should clearly state the purpose of the different social media profiles and the modes of engagement. The mission statement specifies more of the action plan than the goals earlier highlighted.
Curate relevant content: publishing content is a basic part of social media marketing. Thus curating relevant content is an important part of the strategy.
Monitor and adjust: Monitoring and adjusting activities according to insights gained is an especially important part of every social media marketing strategy. Monitoring and making necessary adjustments are essential for achieving the goals of different activities. Monitoring provides insights into customer preferences.
Social media is a goldmine. With the proper strategy, organizations at the different scales can reap the most benefits from social media marketing.