By The pace of global events has increased dramatically. It’s getting more and harder to keep up with what seems to be an overnight proliferation of new fads and technologies. You may feel tempted to join the social media crowd without first having a firm grasp on your end goal(s).
Yet, jumping in blindly without first understanding what it entails and how it may help your organisation can have unintended consequences.
Everything you need to know to create a social media marketing plan that provides value to your audience and promotes business growth is included in this in-depth manual.
The value of social media for companies
In the not-too-distant past, companies wrote off social media as a fad that would soon die out, a useless pastime for a generation of teens with nothing better to do than waste time on mindless newsfeed scrolling.
Social networking is rapidly becoming as one of the most effective promotional channels for modern enterprises.
Yet, what exactly is marketing via social media?
Let’s pretend you’ve just signed up for your first scuba diving class. You are provided the gear without being briefed on its function or purpose. If you can’t tell the difference between your submersible pressure gauge and dive computer, you probably shouldn’t go on a deep sea dive.
The same holds true for diving headfirst into the world of social media marketing without an adequate foundation of knowledge.
The promotion of a good or service using social media platforms is known as “social media marketing” (or “SMM” for short) on Wikipedia.
In what ways might Social Media Marketing help your business?
More than 97% of marketers are now utilising social media as part of their strategy.
That’s a really big deal.
Twenty-five percent of those companies go so far as to state they have no plans to ever engage in social media.
It would appear that there is a significant divide between those who recognise the potential benefits of social media and others who continue to dismiss it as a fleeting fad.
Here are some advantages of social media marketing to think about if you run one of the few firms that still doesn’t understand its worth:
- People are more likely to make purchases from well-known companies. The proper individuals, even if they aren’t yet ready to buy, might be exposed to your business and brand via social media.
- Putting a face to your brand is essential in today’s market, and social media makes it easier than ever to do so. It’s a great way to find your niche and put yourself or your group’s stamp on the world. The folks at Buffer, for instance, do a wonderful job of encouraging staff members to act as Twitter ambassadors for the company by requiring them to end every response with a signature that includes the business name:
- In order to establish yourself as an authority in your field, social media is a great place to disseminate informative material. To establish yourself as a leader in your field, you should answer inquiries, join debates, and provide relevant materials to your contacts.
It’s possible that you view customer service on social media as a waste of time, but your audience does not. A whopping 67% of customers now prefer to contact businesses via social media. This figure is now four years old; naturally, the situation has improved since then. Also, customers count on companies to reply to their inquiries within a day, if not sooner. Customers are talking about your company online while you ignore social media.
Increasing Your Followers on Social Media
You likely know by now that using social media to advertise and expand your business is a great idea.
But how can you get noticed and gain your first few followers? When you don’t already have a following, where do you begin?
- Gaining popularity by means of likes, followers, and shares: There are several approaches you may use. It is possible and even encouraged to promote one’s online presence by including one’s social media account links in one’s website, blog, email signature, etc. But if the information you share with your network is useless, your efforts will be in vain. Make consistent, high-quality material your first priority.
- Facebook: Right now, Facebook is obsessed with video. Live videos, according to the data, attract 290% more viewers than regular videos. It might lead to an immediate and substantial increase in your social media strategy’s reach. But remember that fads fade away, and you must change along with them.
- Facebook Messenger: Messenger is hot right now, and many businesspeople see it as an up-and-coming marketing tool that can stand toe-to-toe with email. Chatbots on Facebook Messenger allow you to interact with potential customers, while Messenger Advertising allow you to reach a wider audience. As a method of social media advertising, it is still developing, but it is worth monitoring.
- While comparing Facebook Groups vs Facebook Pages, it’s important to keep in mind that each type of Facebook community has its benefits and drawbacks. Nevertheless, with a Facebook Group, members are interested and involved in a particular issue, whereas on a Facebook Page, portion of your audience may be there only to benefit from discounts and coupons. Participating in the conversation and establishing your credibility as an authority in your field is made possible by joining such a group. It makes a lot of sense to combine Facebook Groups with Business Pages because of the higher organic reach that Groups receive compared to Pages.
- Twitter is a very participatory platform. You may increase the size of your audience by using the Twitter features of retweeting, like, and replying to comments as often as feasible. It’s recommended to use a service like Social Quant if you want to achieve rapid expansion and keep it going in the long run.