Approximately 223 million Americans regularly use social media and that number doesn’t seem to be going down any time soon. If you know you need to beef up your social marketing game but are unsure how to do so, check out these tips from the pros at RSM.
Social Media Marketing Tips to Help Your Campaigns Succeed
1. Proof-Read & Read Out Loud (do both!)
Although this may seem like a given, you would be surprised how many social media ads and posts go live with grammar and spelling errors. You spent a lot of time crafting your post, so spend an extra few minutes proofreading or having someone else take a look at your copy before it goes live. We also highly suggest you read your post or ad aloud to ensure that it makes sense – yes, people in the office may look at you a little funny, but who cares? You are about to launch an awesome social campaign!
2. Focus Social Media Content Around Your Top 3 Business Goals for That Month
It can be easy to post every single piece of industry news, make a post for every product you sell or talk about the new puppy that your administrative assistant got last week but try to keep your social media content focused on three specific business goals for the month.
For example, let’s say you started a new vegan, local skincare line and have created a lotion that is a game-changer. Your three goals might be to focus on:
- Raise Awareness about your new, awesome product! (lotion)
- Communicate your Brand Values. Identify with your audience and target customers by showcasing product benefits/features (creating products that do not use animal testing)
- Showing Company Values – showing that you are involved in the community (local companies often share things going on around the neighborhood, city or town).
For best results, try to stick with content centered around your three goals for at least a month and watch your efforts pay off.
3. Utilize Facebook & Instagram Stories
Facebook and Instagram stories are great for businesses for a variety of reasons. 62% of people said they were more interested in a product after seeing it in a Facebook Story. The three main reasons that businesses use stories to market their brand are:
- Exclusivity:Instagram and Facebook stories last 24 hours after they’re posted, so users have to check back each day to see the latest updates. They are fantastic for posting one-day offers and special promotions, so people know they have to come in right away for the special deal.
- Personalized Approach.Your followers that check your stories are probably going to be some of your most dedicated fans or customers. Consumers want to see the fun side of your brand so they can get a better idea of your brand’s personality.
- Brand Awareness.Facebook stories, in particular, provide your brand with more opportunities to engage customers. You can increase your reach by using hashtags and geotags in your stories, which lets people who don’t follow you discover your business.
Stories also appear at the top of Facebook and Instagram feeds which means they are the first thing people see when they log in. Essentially, stories are prime real estate for businesses and you should definitely consider incorporating them into your strategy.
4. Focus on the Platforms Your Audience Uses
Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to constantly post on every social media platform there is. Having a presence is important, but if your audience isn’t there you won’t see a lot of pay off from the time and effort you put into your campaigns.
To know which platform you should use, you really need to know your demographic. For example, let’s say you have a line of hoodies that you want to market to teenagers, only 51% of people ages 13-17 use Facebook, but 72% of people in that age range use Instagram so, you should probably put more emphasis on marketing your product on Instagram.
Now, let’s say you have a line of business casual wear for young professionals. 81% of people ages 18-29 use Facebook and 64% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram. With this age demographic, you will want to focus more heavily on Facebook instead of Instagram to get the most out of your time, effort, and budget – with this type of product, you may also want to look into marketing on Linkedin, but that is another post for another day.
5. Engage with Your Audience On a Daily Basis
In 2018, Facebook changed their algorithm and “meaningful engagement” became an important ranking signal. Put simply, posts with more interaction reached a larger audience. On top of that, people who interact with brands expect a fast response. A report by Sprout Social suggests that 34.5% of people choose to use social media as a way to seek quick customer service.
Engaging with consumers on social media also builds brand loyalty and lets you further set in stone your brand’s personality by responding to comments.
The goal of any marketing effort is to reach potential customers and drive them to buy what you’re selling, but this is impossible if you don’t know what those potential customers are searching for – enter keyword research. Keyword research gives you data on how many people are searching for specific terms.
Whether it’s searching for a specific hashtag on a social network or typing in a phrase in a search engine, if you’re using relevant keywords and phrases correctly, your posts and content will be put in front of potential leads.
7. Video is King on Social Media
According to HubSpot, social media posts with video receive 48% more views than posts that do not contain video. If that statistic doesn’t say it all, we don’t know what does. People prefer to watch a video over reading text when it comes to marketing content. The bottom line is, if you aren’t using video in your social media marketing you should start ASAP.
These tips are valuable to anyone trying to step up their social media marketing game, but a lot more goes into building your business on social,contact the experts at RSM today for more information at 1.877.272.7810 or fill out the form below.
