What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing has become a vital component to the market mix of many businesses–large and small. After all, there are 4.9 billion people who use social media platforms worldwide and so having a presence on social is a good way to connect with both current and potential customers alike. No matter your industry, social media is an effective way to reach your target audience, strengthen your brand, establish a loyal customer base and increase your revenue. In this guide, we detail everything you need to know about social media marketing, including what it is, how it works, the best strategies and how to implement it. Social media marketing is the process of creating content for social media platforms to promote your products and/or services, build community with your target audience, and drive traffic to your business. With new features and platforms emerging every day, social media marketing is constantly evolving. Social media marketing is all about meeting your target audience and customers where they are and as they socially interact with each other and your brand. While social media marketing is incredibly valuable and beneficial to your business growth (as you’ll see in the following section), your strategy will differ based on which social networks your audience spends their time on.
Social Media Marketing for Businesses
Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers. People discover, learn about, follow, and shop from brands on social media, so if you’re not on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, you’re missing out! Great marketing on social media can bring remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand advocates and even driving leads and sales. In this complete guide to social media marketing, you’re going to learn:
• What social media marketing is, with benefits, stats, and tips.
• How to build a social media marketing strategy and a plan to carry it out.
• The seven best social media marketing platforms and how to use them
7 Top Social Media Marketing Platforms for Business
There are a number of social media marketing platforms you might want to take advantage of when you develop a social strategy. As you explore your options, you’ll find that some platforms are a better fit for your brand and target audience than others. Here’s a brief overview of several platforms that can help you leverage the power of social media marketing.
1. Facebook
Facebook is the most popular social media platform, making it a smart choice for almost any business. You can use it to boost brand awareness, gain followers, generate leads and increase sales. It also offers the chance to display highly customizable, targeted ads. Keep in mind that while Facebook is an effective platform for social media marketing, it also comes with a lot of competition.
2. Instagram
Instagram began as a basic platform to share images. Over time, it’s evolved into a place where brands can engage their audience with attractive photos and videos. Instagram also offers stories, reels, live streams and shops that can take your marketing efforts to the next level. If your business relies on visuals to sell your products or services, you can’t go wrong with Instagram.
3. Twitter
Twitter uses short posts called “tweets” with text, images, animated GIFs, videos and links. You can use Twitter to connect with your audience through short yet valuable messages. Depending on the nature of your business, it may allow you to provide customer service, build brand awareness and look for topics and information related to your industry and target audience. A tweet can usually contain up to 280 characters.
4. YouTube
YouTube is a streaming social media platform and the second-largest search engine next to Google. If your brand has the desire and ability to produce meaningful video content, YouTube should definitely be on your radar. With YouTube, you can explain complex topics, showcase interesting processes, promote the unique features of your offerings and so much more. It’s a great way to include videos in your marketing strategy.
5. Pinterest
Pinterest is known as a “visual discovery engine” that inspires users. Users often search the platform for ideas that help them renovate their homes, take dream vacations, plan weddings and fulfill other dreams in their lives. If your brand provides products or services that can allow users to discover their dreams and achieve them, Pinterest is the way to go.
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a business networking platform that’s particularly useful if you’re a B2B business. It’s geared toward professionals and can give you the opportunity to share your industry expertise. You might also use it to promote job openings within your company, connect to your employees and even generate leads through paid ads.
7. TikTok
TikTok is a newer social media platform that revolves around short-form videos. It tends to target younger females so it may make sense if you’re trying to reach that particular demographic. As a business on TikTok, you can use hashtags that relate to your posts, brand and offerings. When users search for these hashtags, they may come across your content.
key components of an effective social media strategy
While it may be tempting to post on a few social media platforms whenever you feel like it, doing so isn’t recommended. To truly make the most out of social media marketing and increase its chances of success, you need a solid social media strategy. Put simply, a social media strategy is a game plan that lays out your social media goals, the tactics you’ll use to achieve them and the metrics you’ll track to measure performance. Here are the key components of an effective social media strategy.
Audience Research:
Before you post anything, you should have a strong understanding of your particular target audience. Answer questions such as, what platforms do they use, what type of content do they prefer, and who else do they follow.
Brand Identity:
Determine how you’d like to position your brand when you post on social media and interact with your followers. Think about the messages you hope to convey.
Content Strategy:
Content strategy describes how you’ll use content to grow your brand and attract your audience on social media platforms. The more specific your plan is, the more likely it will succeed.
Analytics:
Social media analytics is a process where you collect and analyze data from your social media platforms so you can measure performance and determine how to improve your strategy. Without it, you won’t know whether or not what you’re doing is working.
Ongoing Activity:
Along with most types of marketing, social media marketing is not a one-time deal. You’ll need to post on it, engage with your followers and optimize your profiles on a regular basis. Keep in mind that in addition to your social media strategy, you also need a professional business website. This way, those who discover your business via social media can go to your website to learn more about what you offer. If you don’t already have a site, learn how to design a website. Or, if you want a very easy way to build a site quickly and affordably, consider using one of the best website builders.