About 11 new people start using social media every second. In fact, the average American has 7.1 social media accounts. It’s not enough to start posting pictures online, though.
Social media has become an essential part of our lives. We use it to stay connected with friends and family, share news and information, and express ourselves creatively. But did you know that social media can also be a powerful tool for business?
If you want to use social media marketing to boost your business, you need a plan.
Don’t give your competitors the chance to get ahead this year. Give yourself a competitive advantage with these 10 social media tips today!
1. Know Your Goals
Before you start using social media marketing, consider your digital marketing strategy as a whole. What goals do you hope to accomplish this year? Make sure your goals are SMART:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Results-Driven
- Timely
Establishing SMART goals can help you develop a more informed social media marketing strategy. Otherwise, you might use tactics that won’t help you accomplish those goals. You could waste valuable time and effort as a result.
Once you determine your overall digital marketing goals, consider what social media goals will help you become successful. For example, let’s say you want to boost brand awareness. You can set a SMART goal to boost brand awareness by 20% by posting more behind-the-scenes videos.
Other goals might consider:
- Generating more website traffic
- Boosting brand trust and loyalty
- Increasing leads (such as form submissions on your website)
- Generating more sales (either through social media or your website)
- Establishing yourself as a thought leader
- Gaining more followers
- Building your credibility
After determining your goals, set a key performance indicator (KPI) for each one. Then, break your larger goals into smaller benchmarks.
If you struggle to meet your benchmark deadlines, you’ll know you need to adjust your social media marketing strategy.
2. Research Your Audience
Before you start using these social media secrets, take the time to learn about your target audience. The better you understand your customers, the more likely you’ll appeal to their interests. Otherwise, your posts might not attract their attention.
Consider your target audience based on demographics and psychographics, including:
- Pain points
- Buying behaviors
- Interests
- Hobbies
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Education
- Language
- Career
- Household income
- Marital status
Segment your broad audience into smaller personas. Then, create content with each group in mind.
Personalizing your content can help you better appeal to your target audience.
3. Consider the Competition
You can create a more informed social media marketing strategy by learning about your competitors. Check their social media accounts. Then, consider:
- The captions they write
- What type of posts they create (videos, images, Instagram Reels, Stories, etc.)
- When they post
- How often they post
- Which posts generate engagement
- Which hashtags they use
Look at their likes and comments. Which posts help them generate engagement? If they’re not generating engagement, learn from their mistakes.
Don’t copy what your competitors are doing on social media. Instead, use these social media tips to develop your own strategy. Learning from your competitors’ mistakes can save you valuable time and effort.
4. Track the Trends
Social media marketing trends change all the time. If you want to look like a relevant resource in front of customers, keep track of the trends. Then, determine which trends are relevant to your brand and target audience.
You don’t need to follow every trend. Instead, choose trends that suit your niche and customers.
Otherwise, your target audience won’t care about your posts.
For example, virtual and augmented reality are becoming more popular. You can use Snapchat to create your own branded filters. Branded filters can help you generate awareness and recognition.
Experiment with different trends to determine which posts generate the most engagement.
Keeping track of the trends can help you remain a step ahead of the competition.
5. Create Compelling Content
Once you establish your target audience and their interests, start creating content! Take the time to diversify your posts. Instead of simple still images, you can also try:
- Animations
- Carousels
- Videos
- Stories
- Reels
- Live videos
Share different forms of content throughout the week.
Live videos are a great way to connect with your target audience, even in light of social distancing. Consider scheduling a Q&A session with your followers. Answering their questions can help them feel more informed about your brand.
They might feel more comfortable about shopping from your business as a result.
Try creating engaging forms of content, too. For example, you can use Instagram Stories to post polls and quizzes. Interactive content can encourage people to engage with your brand more often.
Try hosting a contest as well. For example, you can encourage followers to tag their friends within your posts as a submission. Then, you’ll reach even more customers and generate engagement.
As you create your social media marketing posts, make sure to remain true to your brand.
Keep your branding consistent across all marketing channels. You’ll have an easier time boosting awareness and recognition with consistency. Consider your brand tone and voice as you write your captions, too.
6. Set a Schedule
The average user spends about 2 hours and 25 minutes on social media every day. Not every customer group accesses social media at the same time, though. When building your social media marketing strategy, you need to consider your timing.
Start posting at different times and days throughout the week. You might need to post for a few weeks to gather the data you need.
Then, review your analytics. What time on each day helps you generate the most engagement?
Try to avoid posting too often. Otherwise, you could frustrate users. They might get annoyed seeing your posts too often before deciding to unfollow them.
Once you determine the best days and times to post, find a scheduler app. Scheduling your posts can save you valuable time in the long run. You can create posts for the week or month, then schedule them in advance.
7. Work With Influencers
Nearly 90% of marketers believe influencer marketing is effective. In fact, 42% say influencer is their top ROI-generating marketing strategy.
Look for an influencer who already has a strong following within your industry niche. You can leverage that influencer’s existing brand trust and loyalty. Consumers can learn more about your brand through someone they already trust.
They might feel more comfortable trusting you as a result.
As you use these social media secrets, consider user-generated content (UGC), too. UGC is another great way to boost brand trust and loyalty. It can also help your brand look more authentic as well.
Consumers might have an easier time trusting their peers than the content you create.
Take the time to create a branded hashtag for your business. Then, encourage your customers to use that tag when they post about your brand. You’ll have an easier time finding their posts as a result.
Encourage your followers to share their posts as they use your products or services.
8. Keep Engaging
Once people start engaging with your posts, keep the conversation going. Use social listening to determine when people start discussing your brand. As they comment on your posts, make sure to comment back.
Try to respond as soon as customers ask you questions online. Fast responses can demonstrate your high-quality customer service. Consumers will know they can trust you when they need help.
Look for ways to spark two-way conversations. For example, you can ask questions within your posts. As people submit their answers, comment back with follow-up questions.
9. Adjust Your Hashtags
You don’t have to use 30 hashtags every time you create a post. Instead, make sure your hashtags are relevant to the content you’re sharing. Using too many hashtags can make your posts look spammy.
Try to avoid using oversaturated hashtags, too. Consumers might struggle to find your posts if you’re using hashtags like “love” and “friends.” Instead, use hashtags that are relevant to your industry.
Don’t forget to add a branded hashtag to your social media marketing strategy.
10. Analyze and Optimize
Once you start posting, make an effort to review the data from your campaigns. Reviewing your data regularly can help you identify issues and opportunities.
For example, which posts are helping you generate the most engagement? Which posts fail to gain likes and comments? If you’re struggling to generate engagement, it’s time to make a change.
Make sure to keep up with your competitors throughout the year, too. They might identify a new trend before you do. You don’t want to fall too far behind.
As you use these social media secrets, remember that each platform is a little different. You might need to adapt your strategy with each platform in mind. You could have an easier time reaching customers as a result.
- Use social media to inform your tale. What makes your commercial enterprise precise? What are your values? What are you obsessed with? Share your tale together with your audience on social media, and they will be more likely to hook up with you and your brand.
- Use social media to construct relationships. Social media is an outstanding way to connect to ability clients, partners, or even personnel. Be conscious of comments and messages, and participate in conversations. The greater you engage together with your target market, the stronger your relationships will be.
- Use social media to force site visitors to your internet site. When you percentage hyperlinks to your website on social media, you are using visitors for your website. This permit you to increase logo consciousness, generate leads, and boost income.
- Use social media to sell your services and products. Share photos and films of your merchandise, and write weblog posts about your offerings. The greater humans see your products and services, the more likely they are to shop from you.
- Use social media to run promotions. Offer reductions, coupons, and giveaways to your social media fans. This is a superb way to attract new clients and boost income.
- Use social media to live up-to-date on enterprise tendencies. Follow industry leaders and publications on social media to stay up-to-date on modern traits. This data permit you to enhance your products and services and stay beforehand of the opposition.
Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to grow your business. By following those tips, you can use social media to reach your target audience, construct relationships with capacity clients, and sell your business to the sector.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the social media secrets that businesses can use to grow their brand, attract new customers, and increase sales. By following these tips, you can use social media to reach your target audience, build relationships with potential customers, and promote your business to the world.