Social media marketing might seem simple, but it really isn’t. There are a bunch of brands online who are doing social media wrong, wasting their resources and their prospects’ time in the process. That’s exactly what you don’t want to do. Social media marketing isn’t just about “having a presence” online. You have to figure out who your target audience is, what they want, what their preferences are, and where they congregate online. You can’t just throw up a Twitter page and expect the sales to start rolling on in. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what you need to do in order to develop an effective social media marketing campaign:
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Make Sure You Actually Know How Social Media Marketing Works In Your Industry
Each industry has a different customer base, and each customer base uses social media differently. A business which caters to an over 50 demographic might only use Facebook because that is one of the only social media platforms that demographically is familiar with. While a business catering to millennials might be active on newer social platforms like Snapchat. You have to recognize how your industry uses social media, and what your target audience is looking for. Which brings us to the next point:
What Do Your Customers Want?
Social media is all about engaging with your customers after all. If you don’t know what they want, what motivates them, and how they interact online, then you won’t be able to maximize your social media strategy. Listen to your customers and see what they have to say about your products and your competitors.
Utilize Automation—And Don’t Try To Be Active On Every Platform
Social media is hard enough as it is. You can’t be everywhere at once. That’s why instead of trying to be on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube at the same time, your brand should focus on 1-2 (3 at most) social media platforms where your target audience visits most. You should automate posts to take the pressure off of you, so you can focus on overall strategy instead of rushing to get posts written each day.
Stay Engaged With Your Audience
In some ways, social media is a strong extension of customer service. You can answer product questions, refer customers to the right department, and help improve their customer experience in general. Staying engaged with your audience means speaking with individuals, not just blasting out your message.
Track Everything You Can
Tracking everything on social media is vital. Tracking how your posts perform lets you know which types of posts you should stop doing, and which posts you should do more of. It lets you know how your audience is responding to your strategy, and which links they are clicking on. When you track your posts, you can learn valuable insights about your customers and figure out if you need to change your strategy on the fly.
Social media marketing is about knowing who your target audience is and what their behaviors and characteristics are. This helps you to focus your marketing efforts better. For example, if you have a maternity clothing store, you’ll want to ask where women aged 25-45 are online. Are they on Facebook, Instagram, or perhaps Pinterest? What kinds of special offers make them more likely to buy? Over time, are they responding to one type of clothing brand more than another? Tracking how demographics change their online behaviors over time is critical to making adjustments to your marketing plan. If you follow these social media marketing steps, your business can have an effective strategy that increases engagement and sales.