The buzzword in business circles is social media marketing. Here’s how you can also have a piece of the pie.
10 Strategies to Boost Your Social Media Marketing
1. Conduct an analysis of the social media platforms being used
If you know just where your social media marketing campaign is taking you, you need to measure how effective it is. This can be done by creating different landing pages for different campaigns and using A/B testing to determine which one works best for which type of social media.
2. Do not market only on Facebook
Try a mix of marketing techniques instead of focusing solely on Facebook. Surveys show that 52% businesses with a headcount of more than 1,000 feel that marketing on Facebook is helping them, whereas 34% businesses that are much smaller feel that Facebook marketing is working for them. In short, you need to use a hit-and-trial method to hit upon the ideal marketing strategy for your business.
3. Target people who use mobile devices
Did you know that 58% Americans today own a smartphone and 42% own a tablet? These encouraging findings by the Pew Internet Research Project should persuade you to optimize your Website for hand-held devices. To further strengthen your resolve, here are some more statistics from Super Monitor:
- The average age at which a child owns his or her first cell phone is 13 years.
- The rate at which mobile Web adoption is increasing is 8 times that of Web adoption in the 1990s and early 2000.
- Of the average mobile Web users all over the world, 50% use their phones primarily or exclusively to access the Web.
- Of all searches conducted on the Web, 1/4th are done using mobile devices.
- 72% owners of tablets use their devices to conduct online purchases once a week.
4. Spend time on social media marketing
This tip is dependent on the budget you have for your social media marketing efforts. If you can afford to hire a social media marketing expert, you can devote more time to other aspects of your marketing campaign. However, if you are doing it yourself, you will need to spend adequate time in order to get satisfactory results.
According to market surveys, the average time spent by most business people was 6 hours per week. Around 37% people spend almost 11 hours on social media sites.
5. Focus on creating a fan base
A whopping majority of people feel that using social media for marketing their products gives their business huge exposure. People follow their favorite businesses and remain loyal to them. This helps influence potential clients.
You can use this phenomenon to your advantage. Engage your followers by posting content that is appealing to them. Make them feel that they are special to you.
6. Market on three or more networks
The three biggest social media networks used by a majority of marketing people are Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. But, there’s much more out there on the World Wide Web. Study the demographics of your customers and market your offerings on suitable platforms that are aimed at specific user types.
7. Plan your social media marketing strategy ahead of time
Reports conclude that 70% marketing personnel post content on social media sites once a day. To sustain this pace, you will need to plan your social media strategy in advance. You must have a plan chalked out for the coming month, or better still, the coming quarter. Ensure that content is written early and social media posts are scheduled beforehand.
8. Build partnerships with other businesses
Always remember that no matter how good or successful you are, you are not an island. You cannot survive without the goodwill of your fellow businessmen. If you persist in building suitable partnerships, you will gain more exposure on social media. This is because your partners will promote your offerings, and expect you to do the same thing in return.
The important thing to keep in mind here is that the businesses you partner with should not be in direct competition with you. Also, before you promote someone else’s products and services, test it to see if it is genuine and of good quality. Make sure there are no grave issues with the business. Research before you endorse.
9. Use the top social media platforms
While there are plenty of social media platforms where you can strut your stuff, do not forget to develop your presence on the seven most popular social media sites. According to reports, these sites are:
- YouTube
- Blogging
- Google+
These sites rank higher than others in terms of the number of users and utilization statistics.
10. Use the power of videos for marketing
You haven’t realized yet why videos are making it big in the marketing world? Here’s why – they are visually and aurally engaging, they appeal to the people of today who have shrinking attention-spans, and they engender trust. Plus, they’re not really difficult to film and your viewers get to see you and the finer nuances of what you’re saying.
According to research, a significant percentage of corporate executives prefer to watch videos rather than read through pages of text. This is not unusual; many people learn via the visual style. For people who are inclined to read, you can always add a sparkling description to your marketing video.
It has been observed that blogs have fallen in their popularity, owing to the interest in YouTube videos since 2013. Here are some statistics to help you understand the growing value of the humble video:
- In 2012, the fastest growing ad format was video. (Invisia)
- In a month, at least 45.4% users watched one video. (ComScore)
- Around 86% colleges and universities feature on YouTube. (University of Dartmouth)
Marketing personnel who have caught on to this trend have begun using videos to engage potential clients. Video gives you many choices when it comes to attracting viewers – funny videos, videos providing tips, tutorials, and more. As a business person, you must establish a YouTube channel dedicated to your firm and involve current and potential customers through this channel.
Not all of the tips mentioned previously may boost your social media marketing presence. Each business is unique, and the type of customers you attract are different. Invest some time in figuring out which elements work best for your company and plan an effective strategy based on solid groundwork.
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See also: How To Make A Great Social Media Marketing Plan
