Craving for some ice cream but feeling too sluggish? Don’t worry home delivery apps have got you, there your ice cream is delivered within minutes. In this day and age, everything is digital, so why should our interactions not be digital as well? This is where social media comes in.
Be it communicating your thoughts, promoting your brand, or just for entertainment, social media caters to all your needs. Their wide reach makes them a major player in terms of marketing if you are looking to expand your small business.
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
Employing social media websites and platforms to promote a product or service is known as social media marketing. Social media marketing services also help to build a brand, interact with customers, drive website traffic, and increase sales.
We live in a dynamic world where change is indeed the only constant. Staying current is essential while running a business. You do not want to take a back seat while your competitors take the centre stage. Hence, it is important to follow the tools the modern world has to offer and take your business to greater heights.
Connecting digitally with your consumers can prove beneficial for your social media marketing. One can only imagine the number of ways social media can help you promote your brand. So let’s take a look at these benefits to boost your business’s social media success.
- Increase brand awareness-When you spot bright yellow color, isn’t your first thought is McDonalds? Hence, when your brand becomes more visible, more people start associating it with certain things.
- Better connect– Social media allows you to interact with your customers and find out about their needs, problems, and opinions, which helps you make changes accordingly and have a better relationship with your consumers.
- Increases traffic– With an active social media presence, users are more aware of your brand, and your brand reaches more people who eventually convert to customers.
- Generate leads–Social media marketing can help you reach out to potential customers, build a certain rapport with them, and pave your way towards new opportunities. New leads help the team build credibility and trust.
- Cost effective- Social media advertising can prove to be a huge help if you are on a budget. Any business can easily register and manage their social media accounts for free. Social media is a great source for marketing if you are looking for something cheap and effective.
Social media has completely transformed the advertising world. There are millions of people to reach out to in so many different ways and that’s what makes it all the more difficult, don’t you think?
Social media, although challenging, will give you an edge if you want to up your game and reach out to more people. Don’t worry if you are confused as how to use this powerful tool effectively; we have got you covered. So let’s dive in and take a look at this detailed guide or tips your business can follow for your social media success.
TIPS TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS
1. Strategy research
When your goal is to reach millions of people and get them to identify your brand, you cannot fly in blind. You need to think it through clearly and lay out exactly what you want to achieve. Indepth research on focusing keywords, your targeted audience, your competitors will aid your strategy making process and achieve your desired goal through social media platforms.
2. Platform selection
It is essential to identify which social media platform you want to target. Every social media platform engages different audiences, and thorough research should be done accordingly. The top 10 social media apps include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and Reddit.
Here are the targeted demographics that popular social media platforms caters to-
- Facebook– Millennials seem to be hinged on this app; hence, Facebook’s target audience includes men and women between the ages of 35 and 44.
- Twitter– Most Twitter users are between the ages of 25 and 34. Men make up most of this dynamic.
- Instagram-It is widely popular among the gen z hence their target audience includes the ages between 18 and 24.
- YouTube– This caters to a wide range of ages including the ages of 15-35,36-45,46-55 and 56+
- LinkedIn– This site caters to business professionals and includes people ages 46 to 55. (For detailed guide on social media platforms click here)
3. Content
In this fast-moving era of technology, it is easy to get lost, so give your followers a good reason to follow your content. Educate them about your brand while also making it enjoyable. You should always strive to provide quality content because that can prove to be very beneficial in the long run and creates a positive image of your brand.
Good content will help you achieve your goal and take your business to greater heights. Social media marketing strategy depends heavily on relatable and beneficial content.
4. Inbound approach
Your major focus should not just be about promoting your brand but also adding some desirability to it through your social media marketing. This will organically increase your traffic and provoke others to promote your brand for you. For this, you can follow the 70-20-10 approach.
- 70%(informative)-Majority of your content must be focused on providing some information such as industry news, insights etc. You can also educate your followers with various how-tos and give them some valuable advice.
- 20%(emotional)-20% of your content can appeal to the emotional side of your followers. You can do so by sharing your milestones, core values, company culture, inspiring your followers, and so on.
- 10%(promotional)- A small part of your posts can be to directly promote your brand or your services.
5. Consistency
The key function of social media is to engage the viewers, and this can happen if you share your content regularly. Now your next question is probably how often you should post for it to reach your targeted audience. Here is some data that can help you.
- Facebook– Posting once or twice on a weekday and once on a weekend is helpful when you are trying to reach out to people through Facebook.
- Twitter– Twitter thrives on individual interaction, so it is suggested that you interact with your followers regularly. You should aim to tweet at least twice or thrice a day.
- Instagram– Instagram is a visual app that roots pictures and videos. It is often suggested to post one or two reels and one post per day.
- LinkedIn– Reach your audience through LinkedIn by posting once per business day to generate the required viewership.
NOTE-Keeping track of all these posts, their frequency, and platforms can be quite demanding. So, to stay organized you can make use of a social media calendar. Your social media calendar can be your one-stop planner to handle all your social media marketing services.
It is also important to treat each social media platform separately and figure out what works best for each site since each of them is unique and caters to a different set of viewers.
6. Trendy
Social media being a dynamic platform changes almost every day so to stay at the top of the suggested posts for your followers you need to stay trendy. It is not advisable to follow all trends impulsively, but jump on those that fit your brand aesthetic and add a certain value to your campaign.
As important as it is to stay trendy and achieve social media success, it is also essential to educate the viewer about your brand at the same time.
7. Analyse
Setting down goals for your social media advertising is necessary, but our work does not end there. Analyzing the data from your previous activities, such as likes, interactions, social media interactions, etc. can help you measure your success and determine if you’re moving in the right direction regarding your social media strategy.
Social media analysis will help you build a successful campaign that will reach the right audience at the right time and on the right platform.
Doing the math may seem a little tedious and time consuming, yet again technology is here to make your work easy. various sites can measure the metrics for you and gauge your success. Some of these include-
- Hootsuite Analytics-It is a paid tool for beginners. It is a one stop analysis for all your social media platforms so that you do not have to check each one individually.
- Google Analytics- It is a free tool that caters to all levels. It is an invaluable tool that gives you how much traffic is driven to your site.
- RivalIQ-This is a paid tool best for social media managers.This just doesn’t give you important metrics but also provides a comprehensive social post analytics that helps you find out which post works for each platform and why it is so.
8. Optimize
Your social media optimization should be based on performance analysis, audience, and competitor reach. Social media optimization can be done organically through a number of techniques, like- posting at the right time, posting the right number of times, and including relevant keywords and hashtags in your captions.
Optimizing your bio can be a game changer since it is the very first thing people read about your brand. A bio is why someone would follow you, so better give them a good reason to. Make it informative as well as catchy to attract your viewers.
9. Engagement
Only posting can become a little tedious; hence, it is important to interact with your followers and build a connection. This can be achieved in a number of ways, such as by organizing quizzes, social media takeovers, live streams, etc.
Answering questions, tagging users, and attaching testimonials can have a positive effect on your social media marketing. But be mindful of their space and do not overdo it.
Influencers have sway over people, and having them promote your brand can help create more buzz. Informing people about your ongoing deals, offers, and discounts also keeps them hooked and aids in achieving social media success.
10. Seek relationships
Building a relationship with your followers can go a long way. To build a genuine connection, it is important to be open. You do not want your audience to believe that they are following yet another corporate mogul. You need to show them you are a brand with a personality that can be just as relatable.
Demonstrate that you value your followers and respect their time, so do not be afraid to be a real person and let them get a sneak peek into the raw side of your brand.
Running a successful social media marketing campaign can be confusing. Deciding the right kind of advertisement can be a challenging affair. Hopefully this guide on social media success for your business helps you to select what is right for your brand.
TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Be it individual marketing or b2b social media marketing, social media can provide to all your needs.
To run successful social media campaigns it is important to figure out what kind of content works for each site or for your targeted audiences. It becomes a little confusing when you have so many people to reach out to. Hopefully these methods can prove to be beneficial
- Text ad- Text ads are often brief and are highly creative to catch the attention of the viewer. You have to be extremely crafty to deliver your entire message in just a few simple words.
- Static image ad– These are versatile ways of showcasing your brand. You can use a billion different ways to spice up your normal static images and make them worth your followers’ time.
- A video ad- A video can say so much more than just a picture and convey the whole message in a few seconds. Video ads tend to have a higher level of engagement.
- Interactive ad- These are fun and great for communication. You can also use these to collect data for your upcoming social media campaigns and take your social media advertising to greater heights.These include survey ads, carousel ads, augmented reality ads and live streams.
NOTE– You can also use paid social media advertising to boost up your social media strategy. Social media algorithms can be complex. Some of your posts may not have the reach you are aiming for even after optmization. Paid social media advertising ensures that your post is seen. You are essentially paying for your followers undivided attention.
Social media may seem simple, but it can still be a little tricky if you are new to this social world. Now that we have covered what you should be doing to win this race for social media success, it is also important to let you know what you can avoid so that you can formulate your social media strategy accordingly.
WHAT TO AVOID?
- Being careless– When you post a story on any platform, it is going to be viewed by several people in a span of a few minutes, so you cannot afford to go wrong. A bad or reckless story can gain a bad reputation for your brand.
- Off-topic– A follower follows you for a reason, which is because they find something of value. Not sticking to the reason someone followed you in the first place and going off-topic can create a bad buzz for your brand.
- Inconsistent posts-Not creating enough posts and generating enough engagement can have negative effects on your social media campaign and affect your reach.
- Impersonal– You want to make your consumer feel heard, appreciated, and valued. Answering their questions and queries and approaching them on a personal level can build a deeper bond which is very essential for achievieng social media success.
- Quantity over quality- This is exactly what you are supposed to avoid, and you should always aim for high levels of quality. Posting and gaining followers just for the sake of it should not be the end goal. Your end goal must be to create a community that will pursue your brand and stay loyal to it.
WRAP-UP TIPS:
Social media can be a boon for your marketing campaign since, in this time and age, everyone is connected through one form of media or another. If you create enough viewership for your brand through social media, you can expect your business to grow exponentially.
Planning, implementing, analyzing, and modifying will help you go a long way and achieve success through social media platforms. Different brands have different strategies, and each of them is unique to that particular brand. So, you must figure out what works for your brand and how your audience reacts to your campaigns.
Why Us
Apto Digital is one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Bangalore, India. With the best-skilled digital marketing experts, we bestow an incredible lifestyle of working for our clients by aligning their revolutionary ideas and helping them successfully achieve their objectives.
Our Experts have over 5 years of experience in digital marketing services. We at Apto have meta expertise in Search Engine Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, UI UX Design, Social Media Marketing, Pay Per Click Services, Email Marketing Services, Website Design and Website Development. With our fortune of expertise and digital lifestyle, we provide very cost-friendly digital marketing solutions with higher ROI for enterprises, SMEs, and startup’s.
