SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING; What it is all about
Now, we see them on our connected devices. These companies now use Social Media Marketing.
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
Social Media Marketing according to Buffer.com is the use of social media to connect with your audience, build your brand, Increase sales and drive traffic to your website.
It is simply the strategic use of Social media to grow your business.
Growing your business on social media does not involve posting only. It involves proper use of the great social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube).
Originally, social media was designed for communication purposes. You can talk to an old classmate anytime and anywhere. But for business men, that is not their actual definition of Social media. It is a great business tool.
THE FIVE AREAS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING.
The five core areas of social media marketing you shouldn't dare ignore if you must achieve lasting success and impacts are;
1. Social media strategy
2. Social media planning and publishing
3. Engageing and Listening to your Audience
4. Analytics and reporting
5. Social Media Advertising
1. SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Winston Churchill was able to protect Britain from the Germans by using a strategy. Any business intending to grow on social media but without a strategy will likely not succeed.
Provide answers to the following.
What is the end goal of my social media marketing?
Always start with the end in mind. What do you intend to achieve with your social media accounts? Do you want to increase traffic to your website and make more sales or you want to increase your brand awareness. You decide!
You then map out a plan. Do you want your Posts to drive traffic through education or entertainment?
You should also decide how often you want to generate your engagement. Is it everyday, once in a week or twice weekly. You decide!
Generating a social media engagement around your business or brand will help you create a customer support channel and also build a community.
Who are your target audience?
Your target audience should be in your strategy also. If you are a fashion brand, please your target audience should not be those in poor villages and older citizens.
If you sell herbs, your target audience should be different totally.
Which social media platform can I find them?
Ask yourself where you can find your target audience. Is it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linked in, Pinterest, YouTube or Instagram?
Instagram for instance is made up of people below 35 years old (90% though). It is best for an E-commerce or a travel industry.
Linked in and Twitter are good for those in the marketing industry.
You can also leaverage on smaller and up and coming social media platforms like Tik Tok, Anchor and Tumblr.
Going on social media without a strategy is like wandering in a forest without a Map.
Your social Media strategy should be flexible. You can change something once you observe it's not working.
2. SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING AND PUBLISHING
We mentioned above that it is important to know what to post. The next thing is to know when to post.
You plan ahead and try to use analytics to know when your audience are active online. This will help you to publish great content at the right timing and frequency.
By being present consistently on social media, you show how valuable your brand is.
You should plan the content you want to create and know how it should be drafted. It can be social media images, videos, infographics and how-to do guides.
An idiot with a plan can beat a genius without a plan.
3. ENGAGING AND LISTENING TO YOUR AUDIENCE
Every great brand should be able to know what people think of them. Don't acclaim to be a champion when your audience is leaving you gradually.
Not interacting with your audience means you are losing out - Wordstream.com
You can make use of Social media listening and engagement tools such as 1 password.
You also need to use social media engagement tools because not everything they say about you will show up in your notification bar.
Remember that every great brand should know what people think about them.
Also, encourage a satisfied customer to recommend you on LinkedIn. You should also try retweeting testimonies of others. It helps in brand building.
4. ANALYTICS AND REPORTING
You should want to know if you are growing or not. This is why you need to step up your social media marketing by knowing your analytics.
You can use analytics tools such as buffer analytics or any other tool that will help in analysing your social media platforms for you.
5. ADVERTISING
There will come a time when you need to expand your audience. There will come a time when you need more people to take a look at your website.
You can use Facebook Advertising to make people see your posts and visit your website or buy something.
You should leverage on digital advertising platforms for better answers.
ANYTHING ELSE?
Social media marketing is the bed rock of most businesses in the 21st century.
Your social media marketing plans should be mapped in such a way that one or more of the following should improve;
• Increasing Web Traffic
• Building Conversions
• Brand Identity
• Positive brand association.