What is social media marketing?
SMM is a type of internet marketing that uses social media apps as a marketing tool.
These social media platforms allow brands to connect with their target audience to:
- build a brand;
- increase sales;
- drive traffic to a website; and
- build a community of followers to share and engage with content.
Brands gain exposure by creating relevant content that users share with their networks. When used as a recruitment tool, it also broadens its reach to fans, potential customers, and even potential employees.
Social media marketing also allows businesses to solicit customer feedback while making the company appear more approachable. Organizations can use social media to build relationships with their target audience. It provides a forum for users to ask questions, make complaints, and generally be heard. It also allows brands to respond, adapt, and adjust business processes or products.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat are some of the most popular social media apps. Each platform has features that make it appealing to users. When a company uses several in tandem to deliver a multichannel message, customers can see it on their preferred channels.
Why Is Social Media Marketing Important Today?
When consumers want to learn more about a company or product, they turn to social media because that’s where they’ll find others discussing it.
What if you don’t have a presence on social media? You’ll pass up an excellent opportunity to make an impression.
Take a look at these Oberlo statistics to get a sense of why having a solid social media marketing strategy is critical to business success in 2020 and beyond:
71% of consumers who have had a positive social media experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to their friends and family.
Active social media users include 90.4 percent of Millennials, 77.5 percent of Generation X, and 48.2 percent of Baby Boomers.
Facebook has over 2.7 billion monthly active users on its own.
Every day, multiple times a day, your customers and prospects use social media channels. Visit this blog to find out how much time the average person spends on social media.
Social media is an excellent place for brands to learn about their target audience’s interests and preferences. According to experts, innovative businesses will continue to invest in social media to achieve long-term business growth.
Whether you want to launch a new product or a business, social media is the ideal platform for spreading the word about your initiatives. However, as we move further into the future of e-commerce, it becomes clear that social media marketing is no longer merely an option.
In an increasingly competitive market, your company cannot afford to ignore social media.
It is difficult in the social media influencer space, where thousands of new influencers launch brands daily. If you want to increase your online presence to become a social media influencer, be sure to read our comprehensive guide.
5 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing
Over time, the concept of social media marketing has evolved. A few years ago, the sole purpose of using social media channels was to drive traffic to a website.
It has evolved into more than just a platform for content distribution.
A social media marketing strategy can help you achieve a wide range of benefits by engaging in two-way conversations with potential customers to broaden the reach of whatever you’re selling. First, I’ll go over the top five advantages of social media marketing:
1. SMM Consistently Warms Up A New Audience For Your Business
Nothing is worse than addressing a cold audience or people who have never interacted with your brand before.
Social media marketing provides access to tools and tactics that make it simple to reach out to a new audience for your business.
Facebook and other social platforms allow you to use content to connect with and warm up a potential audience. While it is difficult to capture people’s attention, engaging content can easily cut through the noise.
Creating an intriguing Facebook video ad, for example, can entice people to learn more about you.
2. SMM Builds Stronger Relationships With Customers
If you believe that social media marketing is all about selling and promoting, think again.
Successful brands connect and engage with their social media audiences to build long-term relationships.
For example, when they share something on a platform, they respond to anyone who leaves a comment or asks a question, offering any assistance they may require. So, instead of selling your products or services, ask your social media followers questions about your products or share something that will make their lives easier.
You will gain their trust and demonstrate your concern for their needs and opinions in this manner.
It is always necessary to serve people before asking them to invest with you.
For example, one of our most effective social media strategies is our Entrepreneur Cooperative Facebook Community.
We use this Facebook group to talk about life and business, share fantastic ideas and strategies, and generally get to know other people who share our interests.
A Facebook group is an excellent way to use social media to build a loyal audience of people who will be lifelong supporters of your company or brand.
3. SMM Generates More Leads & Conversions
Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin enable businesses to generate leads. To increase conversions, you can use a combination of paid and organic tactics.
Some of the most effective strategies for getting prospects into your sales funnel are video marketing, paid ad campaigns, giveaways, and email opt-ins.
Running a giveaway campaign on Facebook, for example, can help you grow your list of qualified email addresses.
Because everything happens online, SMM is a measurable, faster, and easier way to build a prospect database. With increased visibility, your company will discover a plethora of conversion opportunities.
Engaging content can direct your social media followers to your company’s website, where they can become loyal customers.
4. SMM Gives You A Leg Up On Competitors
There is a lot to learn from your competitors’ social media presence, especially if you are new to social media and are lacking in marketing ideas.
Progressive businesses constantly monitor their competitors to see what works and what doesn’t. Monitoring what your competitors are doing should be a critical component of your social media marketing strategy.
You can begin experimenting with what works for your competitors.
For example, if paid Facebook ads are working well for your competitors, you should also give them a shot. However, it would help if you did not imitate your competitors in a way that would harm your reputation. Instead, make an effort to stand out.
Suppose you want to see what type of Facebook ads your competitors are showing to their audiences. In that case, you can visit Facebook’s ad library here.
Ad transparency is provided by the ad library, which provides a comprehensive, searchable collection of all ads currently running across Facebook apps and services, including Instagram.
5. SMM Is Cost-Effective
Social media marketing is likely the most cost-effective and diverse way to promote a company.
Most social networking sites do not charge anything to create a profile. Compared to other advertising platforms, the cost of running a paid campaign to boost your content is relatively low.
When done correctly, your chances of generating higher returns on your investment are increased. If paid advertising is part of your social media marketing strategy, start small and work your way up as you gain experience.
You can always do something to improve the results of your digital advertising. One of the advantages of social media marketing is that you can use real-time data to track your performance and fine-tune your strategy.
Advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing
Social media marketing has become integral to every company’s sales and marketing strategy. It is an additional channel for distributing content and messaging to a much larger audience than a homegrown contact database.
While there are benefits to implementing a social media marketing program, there are also drawbacks.
Advantages of social media marketing
Reach out to a larger audience. Across all social media platforms, there are over 3.6 billion users. As a result, a single post share can significantly boost brand exposure.
Customer satisfaction has increased. Organizations use social media not only to market to customers but also to interact with them. This has the potential to improve customer service and foster one-on-one relationships.
An inexpensive tool. The cost of managing a social media program can be low if done correctly. Marketing teams find it simple to use with little overhead once the knowledge, team, and program strategy are in place.
Boost website traffic. Social media posts are an excellent way to drive traffic to a company’s website. In addition, promoting blog content, landing page offers, and other offers can entice users to click through and engage with a brand further.
Improve your understanding. Using each social media platform’s analytics and reporting features provides insight into who page followers are, what content they are interested in, and how they prefer to interact with a brand.
Disadvantages of social media marketing
The procedure is time-consuming. Social media campaigns can take a significant amount of time to ensure their effectiveness. Marketing teams must also keep the calendar updated with new content and respond to inquiries regularly. This can make it difficult for small marketing teams to utilize SMM’s capabilities fully.
Qualified personnel are required. Running a social media marketing program requires the right person or team. Entry-level employees do not benefit from social media marketing programs. Instead, skilled and experienced social media marketers are essential.
We must wait to see the ROI. SMM is an investment for the long term. Social media platforms provide a high ROI, but not in the form of instant gratification. The success of an SMM program is determined by several pieces of content over time, not by one piece of content.
Market research conducted by competitors. Posting on social media is a public forum, and everyone, including the competition, can see the content. There is no way around this.
Brand reputation is at risk. SMM can expose a brand to public embarrassment and negative press. Customers who take to social media to vent their frustrations can leave many negative reviews. Because the platforms are public, anything a company says or does will be seen and reacted to. To mitigate this risk, brands should improve response times.
The essentials of a successful social media marketing strategy
A successful social media marketing strategy will look different for each business. However, the following elements will be shared by all:
Know your audience: what platforms they use, when and why they use them, what content they like, who else they follow, and so on.
Brand identity: What message do you want to send to your target audience? What emotions do you want them to have after viewing your content?
While there is some spontaneity on social media, you’ll need a structured content strategy to maintain a consistent voice and produce quality content regularly.
Analytics: Quantifiable insights will inform your strategy, such as whom you’re reaching, what content to share, when to post, and so on.
Regular exercise: Social media is a platform that operates in real-time. If you want to use it to grow your business, you must post regularly, stay on top of engagements with your business, engage back, keep up with trends, and keep your profiles up to date.
Inbound strategy: Do not pitch your company on social media. Concentrate on adding value through valuable and exciting content and strengthening those around you. This, in turn, will promote your business organically, and others will promote it for you.
The DOs and DON’Ts of Social Media Marketing
DON’Ts:
- Target broad demographics.
- Post infrequently or infrequently
- Use any hashtags that come to mind on the spur of the moment.
- Continue posting without ever measuring your engagement by leaving DMs on reading or comments unanswered.
- Continue to post without measuring your engagement.
- Leave sections of your bio blank or broken links.
- Neglect to consider your social media efforts as part of a larger digital marketing strategy.
- Make rash decisions without consulting any data
- Publish without knowing what to expect from your efforts.
DOs:
- Run regular reports to keep track of the critical metrics.
- Set short-term and long-term objectives.
- As needed, cross-promote your other marketing channels.
- Improve your bio and about sections.
- A/B test the content you publish to see what works best.
- Use your posts to help your customers achieve their goals or alleviate their pain points.
- Respond to all comments and direct messages as soon as possible.
- To use the most effective hashtags, do your research ahead of time.
- Make a content calendar with scheduled posts.
- Create a unique customer avatar.
Social media marketing services
Regardless of how free and simple each platform is, a solid social media marketing strategy necessitates multiple platforms and, in many cases, a mix of organic and paid methods. While this is an excellent problem, the more you grow your audience through social media, the more difficult it will be to keep up. As a result, social media marketing services come in various shapes and sizes to assist businesses in making the most of social media. As an example:
Social media management software: Platforms such as HootSuite and Sprout Social use proprietary technology to assist more experienced social media marketers in streamlining their processes and obtaining advanced analytics.
Social media marketing agencies: Some agencies, such as Advertise, specialize solely in the social media marketing or even just paid social advertising.
Digital marketing agencies: Just as one platform cannot handle social media marketing, one channel cannot handle overall marketing. Digital marketing agencies can assist you in incorporating social media marketing into a larger strategy that includes email, website, SEO, and other components.
Hybrid services: Some provide a combination of the above. LOCALiQ’s social advertising offerings, for example, use proprietary technology to manage your strategy and allow you to focus on social alone or as part of a larger strategy.
Good Read: Digital Marketing – Certification, Scope, Job Roles and Salary
Are You Ready To Take Your Social Media Presence To The Next Level?
Social media has been evolving steadily over the years. New trends emerge from time to time as new features and algorithms are released. This makes it even more critical for marketers to stay up to date on the latest developments.
LYFE Marketing is always current. Use our social media marketing services. You can be confident that all of our marketing strategies are up to date. What does this mean for your company? It means you’ll be able to get ahead of the competition!
To get the most out of your social media marketing, fill out our contact form below.