Social media is a prevalent part of everyday life in 2019. Statistics show that worldwide, there are 3.2 billion users. This impressive number equates to 42% of the current population.
With such a huge opportunity to reach billions of people around the globe, if your business isn’t featuring on any social media platform, you are losing out on a significant revenue stream. It may appear, at first, that social media marketing is relatively simple. You post an update or a picture and wait for the likes and followers to find you. There’s a lot more to social media marketing, however, as the below guide will discuss.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is a branch of digital marketing which solely focuses on social channels. Not only is it a key way to build brand awareness, but it can help protect your reputation and convince potential consumers to convert into loyal customers. By making your business available to the public with the use of social media channels, you can create long-lasting, meaningful relationships. For example, social media makes it easy to resolve customer disputes and complaints, and in a way that showcases your brand as one which cares for its consumers personally.
The social media channels you can utilize include:
Which social media channel you pick will depend on your demographic and your business itself. A teen-focused company will find a larger audience on Instagram than on LinkedIn, for example.
How to Use Social Media Marketing to its Advantage
For any business starting their own social media marketing campaign, there are several essential tips to keep in mind, including the three below.
1 – Create a Strategy
Before you begin trying to attract attention and gain followers, you need to know who, why, and how to do so in the best way. This is where a strategy is crucial. Creating a strategy which includes realistic and attainable goals can be tricky, however. Its why business owners enlist the help of digital marketing agencies. When you’re choosing a digital marketing agency, ensure you find one which understands your needs, your audience, and how best to reach them.
2 – Be Consistent
Once you begin to build a following, you must be consistent with your posting. If your audience loves your posts and you post them regularly, you will find higher engagement. It’s because your target audience will expect your posts at a specific time, meaning they will log onto their social media channels to view what you produce.
The consistency isn’t only important for your target audience, however. Twitter and Instagram, for example, require brands to be active several times a day to ensure they reach the maximum potential of viewers. Facebook status updates can be used more sparingly, so while posting consistently is crucial for each, be aware that certain channels expect more or less.
3 – Focus Your Posts
It can be tempting to create a post which tries to be as generalized as possible. This is the wrong approach. Instead, you need to create posts with your target audience in mind. While it may not get as many ‘likes,’ the likes it will get is much more significant and will lead to higher engagement.
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