If you own a brand, then there is little chance of you not being on social media is some way or form and is an integral element of Digital advertising. But how many brands have a thriving and dynamic social media presence? And how many of them are simply there?
Social media has become an important platform for small as well as large-sized businesses. Have a look around you. Almost every brand you see is without fail on social media.
What is the reason behind this?
The reason is about 60% of users turn to social media to search for products. Therefore, it is important to boost your social media presence in 2020.
Having a great social media presence can help your business grow like weeds. But this will only happen if you have many followers and learn how to give them what they want.
If you want to learn digital marketing, you will have to first understand social media and how it works.
Social media marketing tactics certainly include eye-catching images to grab the attention of users. By creating attractive and high-quality images, you can capture anyone’s attention. Combine that with unique and apt typography, and you will gain a lot of followers due to one post. Here, we are discussing some tips to improve your social media presence for growing your business.
Useful Tips to Improve your Social Media Presence
- Set SMART goals- Have you ever asked, “Why are you on social media? If your answer is “because everybody else is on social media”, then you are not on the right track. The idea of SMART goals has been around for several decades, but it plays a significant role in the social media presence today. In short, brands must set goals that are measurable, specific, relevant, achievable, and time-bound. One of the examples of good SMART goals for social media marketing would be something like “We will increase our Twitter response rate by 25% by the end of the opening quarter.”
- Specific – We have exclusively identified the social media channel and a metric
- Measurable- The response rate can be measured from Sprout Social dashboard
- Achievable- We did not make an unusual objective of say, about 100% increase in 10 days
- Relevant- Our objective will influence our global social media presence, making it relevant
- Time-bound- The objective must be met by the end of the opening quarter
Giving social media efforts a specific purpose helps you to avoid the trap of posting aimlessly.
- Think of a unique social media strategy- Having an objective for enhancing your social media presence is great, but it just the beginning. Once you know what you want to attain, you must come up with a strategy plan to help you get there. Start by designating the person or people who will be a part of the social media team and break up their roles and responsibilities clearly, so everyone knows what is expected and when. Start by designating the person or people who will be a part of the social media team and break up their roles and responsibilities, so everyone knows what is expected and when. You must also decide on your posting frequency and make a content calendar that will assist you to plan social media posts and ensure that you do not miss any day.
The content calendar is an important part of your social media strategy as it should lay: - Who your target audience is?
- What subjects and topics your audience is interested in?
- Usable content you already have
- What type of content you need to curate?
- When and on what content will be published
- Find out your target audience- One of the most significant parts of improving your social media presence is finding who your audience is. Your content and efforts must be geared towards people who may be interested in your company. It is significant to be specific, without restricting yourself to prospective markets. So, start by analyzing your past and current audience. You can calculate this by assessing the backgrounds of your network, customers, or followers.
To start finding your target audience, consider the gender, geographic location, and age of people. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow you to consider more factors while determining whom you wish to advertise the content.
- Select the right network- Social media has grown popular since the popularity of Facebook grew in 2012. There are thousands of networks dedicated to everything from connecting old class friends to social activism, etc. Therefore, with all these options, how does a business improve? Experts suggest joining four of the most prevalent and selecting the right ones to come down to your target audience and your objectives. Here is some information to guide you:
- Facebook- Being the largest platform, Facebook has about 2 billion-plus active monthly users, and the site is perfect for businesses that want to build relationships and generate leads.
- LinkedIn- This is one of the most popular platforms for business networking. This platform is used by both B2B and B2C businesses to develop trust, engage audiences, and build authority.
- Pinterest- It is a photo-sharing site. This is a fantastic platform for businesses with graphic appeal and it is one of the best platforms for boosting sales as so many users visit the website to plan purchases.
- Twitter- This is a perfect social media platform whose major audience is below 50 years of age and who need to stay informed about the time-sensitive information like announcements, trending topics, and breaking news.
- Snapchat- It is one of the fastest-growing social media sites (Social Media Marketing Strategies), and businesses can influence it by providing promotions, personalized content, offering exclusive access, and build relation with influencers to drive loyalty and brand recognition.
- Use Social Media Optimization- Social Media Optimization (SMO) is the use of keywords to attract potential clients to your content and profile naturally. SMO starts by utilizing your page to include your brand’s or business information. If you are working on behalf of a local storefront business, it is significant to include your contact information and address. Moreover, if you are an influencer or a brand you must include the state or city that you are in. The use of keywords within a bio that can be utilized broadly to recognize your business, is beneficial.
- Follow a posting schedule- It is significant to post daily. Your social media platform must be consistent and representative of a constant conversation with customers. You can use your social media page to show the public what does on behind the production scenes. Or, you can also use it to display new products, but make sure that you do it frequently. Every platform has a distinct norm for what is seen as the usual quantity to post. Moreover, this amount is constantly subject to change.
It is a great idea to monitor successful competitors within your industry. You will understand what a perfect posting schedule must be. In addition, be attentive to which time of the day you are posting. To improve each social media post’s exposure, ensure to post during the times with the highest social media use. These times differ by culture and geographic location.
- Provide the best customer service- Customer service goes a long way in building your company in front of the customer. If a customer reaches out to you with a complaint or query through social media or email and is not redressed suitably, the loss is totally yours, as he or she will turn to your competitor. You will lose a customer, whereas they will get a new one without even trying. A good customer support service is regarded as an essential value addition to your daily products and services. A customer who has a great customer support service experience becomes your marketers to their contacts, where they spread the word about you in a positive way. You can generate extra traffic by just taking care of your current customers.
Let us take the example of Mayo Clinic and Amazon. With the best customer service that is the best one, Amazon has become the undisputed option for online shopping. Mayo Clinic hardly spends anything on ads and marketing but has become the most renowned hospital brand in this world, simply just because of the word of mouth propagation, credited to unparalleled customer support. Some useful steps to ensure that your customers do not feel ignored are:
- Hire a social media manager
- Monitor social media channels and emails and respond to queries if any
- Create witty advertisements
- Handle both negative and positive feedback and queries respectfully with a touch of professionalism
- Engage in Social Selling- While your aim may be to increase the sales, avoid being obvious about the promotion of goods and services. Instead, try using a concept known as social selling. Social selling focuses on building relationships with customers. If your relationship with your target audience is strong, your products will be bought and promoted for free of cost. Social selling can be supported by understanding the social responsibility of your brand. Focusing on how to grab the attention of your target audience can be useful.
- Use images- It is significant to remember that social media is an artistic experience. Images and videos are more inviting to the viewers and boost more engagement. Using awe-inspiring and attractive imagery in your social media pages and content will attract users. Moreover, this will grow your social media presence.
- Include icons on the website- Ensure to include icons of your social media channels on your personal websites. This will make it simpler for those coming to read your content to like or follow your brand. Do not confuse them, rather make it simple for them.
- Know the current trends- Trend, as well as accepted norms, keep evolving. What was accepted a month ago may be regarded as a social media faux today. So, be cautious of the current trends in hashtags, visuals, content amongst everyone, and leading competitors in your industry. Be cautious about the past mistakes made by companies through social media and note how these issues were resolved.
- Use trending hashtags- Hashtags are common these days. Everyone is using them to attract more and more people to their websites and blogs. Using hashtags on Twitter, Google, and Facebook will bring more customers to your social media accounts and your site- but use them cautiously. Do not use unrelated hashtags.
- Make payments to promote your social media platform- If the organic ways of boosting your social media presence are not working, do not be scared to pay for promotion. Promotion plans through social media platforms can be customized by a variety of variables. This includes the duration of the promotion, your budget, and how many users do you want to reach. The price can be as low as $5 or more based on the goal you want to attain. Therefore, consider what are the goals for each promo.
The promotion of content or your page can be inclined towards a target audience who has chosen or that has been created for you depending on the analytics of your earlier posts. Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter make use of algorithms to find what the users prefer and connect them with the right content.
Also Read – What Is Search Engine Marketing?
