Social media is a dominant force online. From Facebook and Twitter to YouTube and Snapchat, the amount of time that people are spending on the Internet hasn’t stopped growing and if your business isn’t tapping into social media marketing, you are already way behind. For instance, consumers use social media while gathering information before making purchase decisions and general background about your business. Connecting with these potential customers through social media platforms streamlines accessibility and builds a dynamic trust in your brand. Below are 10 easy steps towards improving your social media marketing:
1. Run posts that lead to content. Rather than placing an ad that tracks directly to your product, try crafting a landing page with an informational blog or video. Instead of jumping right to the last step, try to ease the consumer into the idea of purchasing by providing them with the value and context of your marketing message. This method cultivates brand loyalty and builds
2. Produce content that include captions with a call to action. “Tag a Friend” or “Tag someone you know who would do this” are two examples of very simple call to action maneuvers that draw additional people to your content without having to use your precious advertising budget.
3. Share user generated content. If a customer goes out of their way to share their opinion on your business, service, or general product, you should share it with your followers. User generated content is the most trusted form of word of mouth and the most relied source of information for consumers when making a purchasing decision. It is no longer what the company has to say about its product; rather, it has everything to do with what type of reviews your product has received.
4. Create intriguing videos that feature your product. How many times have you found yourself mindlessly scrolling through videos on Facebook after viewing a video someone shared? If you have never had this happen congratulations on containing your curiosities, and for those of us who have fallen in that trap don’t worry! Facebook and other video clients design these video players to suck you in, and then they insert ads into the stream, instead of being the ad video, be both the ad video and the funny video that got you sucked in.
5. Respond and interact. Whenever a customer engages with your business on social media, connect back! Directly interacting with the consumer enhances the customer journey exponentially. Personalized messages resonate well with consumers by exhibiting that you care and are available for support.
6. Use a social media monitoring tool. Tools like Hootsuite and SproutSocial can be utilized to streamline all your accounts in one easy to manage spot. There, you can monitor your accounts from one single interface, ensuring a uniformity of messaging and promoting better time management.
7. Use keywords in your social media marketing. Social media search optimization is the life blood of assuring your marketing messages get out there. Coupling hashtags and keywords makes your posts optimal for being picked up in searches.
8. Invest your marketing budget wisely. Social media is finding new ways to limit the exposure that business get, and limit the amount of organic views your post will receive. So if it is within your budget it is something to consider getting your posts a further reach and more views.
9. Track analytics and make changes accordingly. Google Analytics and other tools are easily available to help track and monitor the success and failures when running a social media campaign. Not every post will be a grand slam so it is important to learn with every piece of content what works and what does not.
10. Deliver relevant content! Nothing is more important than to produce relevant content; otherwise, no one is going to bother engaging. Relevance is also important so that your company comes to mind first when someone thinks about businesses in your market. Relevancy remains the most important aspect when developing content – if you are irrelevant, you are essentially wasting your time.
