Social media marketing is a growing and important business tool that can help your company gain new customers, build relationships with existing ones, and increase conversions. But to succeed at it, you need to have a clear understanding of how it works, the best platforms for your brand, and a solid strategy that can drive growth and boost ROI.
First, determine your goals and objectives by asking yourself a few questions like “what are my goals?” and “how do I measure success?” Once you know what your ultimate goal is, you can start to formulate your strategy to achieve it. Next, identify metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to track your progress.
1. Develop a clear voice and tone that resonates with your audience
A consistent voice on social media helps establish brand credibility. It also helps you stand out from the competition and makes your company appear adaptive, friendly and relevant.
2. Develop a unified look and feel for all of your social media profiles
A strong visual identity for your social accounts helps your followers connect with you and your brand. It also shows them that you are listening to their feedback and understand their needs.
3. Create engaging content that will encourage your followers to share it with their friends
A solid social media marketing plan should be focused on sharing content that is relevant and interesting to your audience. Aside from posting regular updates about your products and services, make sure to include engaging photos, captions and hashtags in your posts to ensure your content stands out.
4. Get creative with social media promotions
Creating social media marketing campaigns that involve contests, links to special offers and live videos with exciting updates can help you generate more leads and engage your followers. Aside from boosting engagement, these strategies can also increase sales and improve customer loyalty.
5. Keep it fresh and fun
Whether you’re selling your own products or offering a service, having an active and engaged social presence on all of your social channels is vital to your success. Sprout Social’s 2022 Index report indicates that consumers want to see brands that are authentic and fun. This means you need to stay up-to-date with trends and come up with creative ways to engage your followers.
6. Tailor your social media posting schedule to each platform
Having an organized posting schedule will help you stay on top of what your followers are interested in and allow you to deliver relevant content at the right time. Using tools like Hootsuite or Later can help you set up your social media schedule in advance and make it easy to publish on multiple channels at once.
7. Listen to your social audience
Monitoring and listening for relevant conversations about your business and industry can be daunting, but it’s crucial if you want to grow your audience. You can use tools like Sprout’s Advanced Listening to spotlight unfiltered consumer feedback regarding competitors and their products.