Social media marketing is not an easy realm to navigate. With constant changes in consumer behaviour, simply posting content is no longer enough to engage an audience and cultivate brand presence.
So how do you adapt your brand’s social media marketing strategy for success?
Organised strategies, either led by yourself or a social marketing agency, will boost your marketing efforts and increase engagement, visibility and the potential for existing followers to become paying customers.
Here’s what to do.
Identify the right social media channel
Opting to run your social media marketing strategy on the platform your target audience frequents most is generally the rule of thumb. This means that you are promoting yourself in front of as many interested users as possible.
As a headstart – Facebook is usually the best channel for generating leads and increasing brand awareness, whereas TikTok and Instagram are prime choices to appeal to younger demographics.
Create your brand’s story
Given how saturated the social media marketing industry now is, consumers are looking for brands who have unique stories attached to them. These stories are what will humanise your brand and connect your target audience to it.
Make the most of live videos
A Livestream survey found that 80% of consumers prefer to watch a brand’s live videos in comparison to their blog. If you are looking to improve your social media marketing strategy, make use of video creation tools and live streaming to adhere to consumer behaviour and optimise the chances of turning them into paying customers.
Leverage user-generated content
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful ways to promote your products or services, as people simply trust other people over brands themselves.
Create a space that allows users to brag about their purchases from you – for example, make it easy for them to tag you in posts/stories. You can even reshare their content onto your own social media pages to entice future customers.
Use social-friendly images
Consumers are getting pickier and rejecting generic stock images. To combat this, entice them by incorporating original images and videos into your content. If you are a start up or a small business who might not yet have the budget for shoots or to hire an image/video editor, make use of the tools that are readily available for you to try, such as Canva, Venngage and Placeit.
Use Instagram for posting ads
With over 1 billion active users, Instagram has become a powerhouse for selling. The time is ripe for leveraging the power of Instagram ads, so make sure yours are visually appealing and targeted at the right audience to ensure success.
Use relevant hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to improve brand visibility, however, the hashtags you use and how frequently you use them needs to be approached strategically. Do some digging into what the most relevant hashtags related to your industry are and use them sparingly! Remember, the more specific your hashtag, the more relevant your audience will be.
Once you have found those that work for you, try different combinations adn run with these across all platforms you’re present on. These hashtags will help you track your mentions and identify your key supporters.
Use social media marketing tools
Making use of the countless number of social media marketing tools out there is the key to staying at the top of your audience’s feeds. Tools can help you schedule posts, analyse performance, capture lead opportunities, engage with clients and so much more. This will also make the strategy process so much smoother.
