Social media has become a way of life for many people. From posting their holiday photos to sharing their day-to-day activities, we’ve become used to these insights into other people’s lives. But when it comes to business, is social media an essential ingredient, or does it become a tedious task that seems to get few results?
Well, the good news is that when used effectively, social media can make a huge difference to lead generation and conversions, not to mention gaining brand awareness. But top strategies for social media need both planning and careful implementation if you’re to get the very best results. In this article, we’re going to show you how!
Why Use Social Media Within Your Marketing Strategy?
When we talk about social media as an online marketing platform that includes social networks, microblogging, and comments. These all have the ability to increase the spread of your message and gain attention for your product or service.
It’s essential to recognize that social media does not operate independently from traditional strategies but rather in conjunction with them. For example, a company could form a real-life community through public relations while using social media to increase visibility.
The key to success, in this case, is not to ignore the traditional strategies that have given good results over time but rather to combine them with social media. This can be done by keeping some of the characteristics of these online platforms in mind.
So that includes:
- it’s personal (who wants to feel left out?)
- it’s social (watching and listening to others)
- it’s pitched appropriately (more relaxed).
The Benefits of Social Media Activity
Lead Generation
Undoubtedly, the most outstanding aspect of social media as a platform for online marketing is its capacity to generate high-quality leads. This can be done through interactive conversations with your target market or community.
For example, companies like Dell use their accounts on social networks to not only promote their products but also to create discussion that benefits both sides. They maintain conversations with users interested in Dell products by asking how they can improve their services and whether they are satisfied with the product after buying it.
This type of proactive behavior effectively develops strong relationships with the client.
There are other strategies for generating leads online, such as posting contests or promotions on Twitter, blogs, forums, etc. This could consist of simply announcing the company’s products in exchange for their e-mail address and contact information. For example: “first 10 people who leave their e-mails here will receive a free X”.
Sales Conversions
Another critical aspect of social media is converting leads into sales. It has shown remarkable results when used as an online marketing tool because companies can market their products or services in different environments through direct contact with the customer. For example, every company could have a Facebook page for promotion and product information so users interested in the company could “like” it and receive updates in their newsfeed.
In the case of large companies or corporations, social networks have been a great help in increasing revenue due to their lead-generation capability, allowing decision-makers to monitor the customer’s online behavior in real-time.
Increased Visibility / Competitive Advantage
Another effect of the social media phenomenon is its capacity to raise your company, product, or service visibility. It’s an ideal online marketing platform because it offers many different options for increased reach via free promotion. For this reason alone, a company should consider including social media in its marketing strategy.
Besides the organic promotion of your company or product through blogging, Twitter posts, or Facebook updates, you can also use paid advertising.
The cost of this type of advertising can snowball, so you should proceed with caution before deciding to use it. However, if the company has already generated a considerable online presence, this type of promotion could be ideal.
Guidelines for Social Media Marketing
The key to success in your social media strategy is to have a clear objective and be sure of what you want to achieve. Even if the purpose is simply to enhance your company’s image, this objective must be met efficiently. As in other marketing strategies, there are no magic formulas for success in social media.
Successful online marketing requires you to commit yourself fully from the very beginning. If you think social media is just a passing fad, then it is likely that your presence on these networks will dwindle with time, and nothing significant will be achieved from it.
But suppose you know how to use the promotional tools available in the different social media platforms, as well as their most important characteristics. In that case, you can generate a robust online marketing plan that will allow you to receive more leads and increase your revenue.
Before starting any social media campaign, there are some aspects it’s essential to consider:
- Be consistent with the information posted across all platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Your followers should know what kind of content they can expect from you at all times, and a mix of updates with different styles is not recommended.
- Know precisely who you are targeting. You should decide if your objective is to promote your company as a whole or if its purpose is to increase awareness of particular brands or products. This will help you better target the public and create interesting content to generate interaction.
- Provide a response procedure for customer queries or complaints. It is essential to ensure the security of your brand image and create a good relationship with customers. There are many great examples of companies that have used social media in this way, such as Dell, Gatorade, and the clothing company Zara.
- Identify which platforms you are going to use before starting your campaign. If you are thinking of using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, be sure that all of them are appropriate for your company’s image.
- Use the most important channels correctly. Each social media platform has its own characteristics, so it is advisable to have a different strategy for each one. For example, LinkedIn is more suited for B2B interactions, while Twitter dominates the mobile audience
- Evaluate carefully which social media platforms best suit your company’s image and marketing strategy. There are currently many networks, but not all of them are equally effective for every business. Before starting with a new platform, it is essential to research and test to check if it is worth using for your business.
The possibilities for social media marketing are endless, but it is essential that companies know exactly what they want before laying out a plan. Only then will they be able to effectively target their presence in these networks, as well as increase their online presence and generate traffic to their websites.
Social media marketing is a vital component of any internet marketing strategy. If you use the most appropriate platforms, put together a good plan and keep working on it, you’re sure to see results in your business growth.
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