In July of 2003, one of the first social media platforms was launched, Myspace. Since then we’ve seen everything from AIM, to Vine, and now Tiktok. As of January 2020, according to Datareportal , over 288 million users make up the daily social media audience. With millions of eyes on these platforms every day, businesses have become required to have an online presence. However, getting started can be a daunting task. Here are --- the fundamentals of social media marketing to get you started.
5 Tips on How to Begin Effective Social Media Marketing
Set Your Goals
As stated by Tony Robbins, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible to the visible”. Before you get into the nitty-gritty of social media calendars or content creation, you have to know why you’re doing it. Some common misconceptions are that “if I have more followers then I’ll make more sales”, which isn’t always the truth. It’s important to set business goals that translate into social media goals. If you are looking for more followers to get more sales, then your goal is to get more sales through social media. Making this distinction will allow you to create better content and strategies that convert rather than making content that will go viral. If you are looking to shape your reputation or grow brand awareness, then you may be creating content with the intention of going viral. Whatever the goal, set it early.
Here are some of the top goals for marketers in 2021 :
- Increased acquisition of new customers
- Increased brand awareness
- Drive conversions (leads, purchases, product inquiries)
Source: Hootsuite's Social Trends 2021 Survey
Evaluate Platforms
As we’ve seen from the Tiktok era, not all social media is the same. Whether it is Facebook, Linkedin, even Snapchat; every audience is different. When you set your goals set, it’s important to find the most effective platform to achieve them. According to OBERLO , Facebook has a monthly user count of 2.8 billion, ranging in age from 13 to 90+. Facebook is a social media giant with a range of audiences and advertising opportunities. If you’re just starting out, Facebook is a great tool to have your content seen and shared.
Instagram is right behind Facebook, with over 1 million monthly active users (according to Hootsuite ). Instagram has an ever-evolving algorithm that makes it difficult to get your content seen, it is a competitive space. However, if you keep track of the algorithm and do your part with hashtags and comments, it doesn’t have to be impossible!
Linkedin is the place to be for B2B marketers, not the only place, but a good start. With 740 million monthly active users (source market.us ), you’ll get the niche audience with attentive engagement. With an estimated 1.1 billion monthly active users in under 2 years, we cannot ignore the impact Tiktok has had on social media marketing. Even though the app feels too young, research shows that the age range of Tiktok users is increasing since last year.
When choosing which platform to invest more marketing dollars on, it's important to research where your competitors are, research where your audience spends most of their time, and in this instance, follow the crowd.
Gather Your Tools
Early in the social media journey many marketers and business owners were taking time to post every day on their social media accounts. Since then the process has been streamlined with tools like Social Studio which is housed on Marketing Cloud by Salesforce. Marketing cloud allows you to integrate all your social media data into one place and use AI to create customized experiences. Social Studio in Marketing Cloud allows you to monitor your social media and analyze audience behaviors across all platforms. More importantly, Social Studio allows you to plan your content in a calendar and set schedules for when to post. Marketing cloud allows you to review your analytics, which is important for your social media strategy and understanding your audience.
Streamlining your processes is essential for keeping up with your audience, and it’s made simple with Marketing Cloud by Salesforce. At Abelian, we specialize in implementing Salesforce products like Marketing Cloud. If you are interested in expanding your toolbox and taking your marketing efforts to the next level, contact us for a free consultation. No strings attached!
Create Compelling Content
The creative space on social media is large. Today, companies have to compete with celebrities and large corporations for the attention of the audience all on social platforms. Creating content that converts is a pivotal asset in grabbing and retaining that attention. To start, make sure all of your platforms are consistent in their branding. From the cover art, to profile photos, to even the YouTube in video watermarks, if you can customize it, customize it! You want your audience to feel familiar with your brand in order to remember it. From optimizing your profiles to posting content, it’s important to stay consistent with the brand. Even if you have no followers yet, begin posting, people will not follow if there is no content. When creating content, try utilizing design trends to your advantage. All of your content should provide value by either educating or entertaining. Standard forms of content like photos and graphics are good starting points. However, in recent years video and audio content has become more likely to be consumed. Content creation can be tricky and expensive, but today’s audience will be much more likely to see the value in your content the more you invest in time and resources.
Engage with Audiences
The job does not end with the distribution of content. Another asset to social media marketing is engaging with your audience. Just like you would follow up in a sales space, follow up in the social space. Especially when starting out, your audience likes to know it’s not a robot running the accounts. When you create a relationship with your audience, they are more likely to like or comment; consequently benefiting the content’s performance against the algorithm.
Whether it is existing in Facebook groups or commenting back on Instagram, making sure you consistently engage with your audience is just as important as creating the content. Also, when setting up your social accounts make sure you’re following your clients, partners, employees, and even industry leaders. In the last year, we have seen our world change drastically, with a global pandemic, election, and civil unrest. It has become more important to create meaningful relationships and engagements now more than ever as customers expect brands they support to be socially responsible. Customers are more than that, they are people first. Engage with authenticity and enter these spaces with awareness, because today’s market has become more intentional with their support.
Advertising has almost fully moved to the digital space and more businesses are taking advantage. Although it may be a large task to tackle all social platforms at once, Marketing Cloud by Salesforce makes it simple. Once you’ve set meaningful goals and evaluated which platforms will bring the most value to your team, enter Marketing Cloud. Import all data and processes to your Marketing Cloud ecosystem and get started creating compelling content and engaging with your audience. For more information on how we can help grow your business, visit our services. If you’d like to schedule a free consultation, click here.
