Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing means using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to advertise products and/or services. It’s a process of attracting attention through social media.

Why Your Business Needs Social Media Marketing

You might ask if you really need social media marketing for your business. The answer is and always will be “you should”. If you are not yet convinced, then here are the reasons why you need and should have social media marketing for your business:
1. . Free to create

Social media marketing is free to start. Most social media platforms do not charge you with signup fees. So you should take advantage of it. Admit it or not, this will cost you less compared to the old way of marketing campaign.

2. Social media targets and retargets

In facebook ads, for example, it lets you target facebook users by the pages they like, purchase history, and even their personal information like location, education and so on. Facebook also allows you to install Facebook pixel where you can use it to retarget the users who visit you- users who might get you leads and sales.

3. Boosts sharing

In social media marketing, users have the ability to like and share what you have posted. So the more interesting your post is (something that’s not begging for attention), the more people will likely to share it. This will give you a wider audience because your followers will share it to their networks, who will then share your post with their own followers. With this, you will gain more Facebook likes, Twitter likes, and/or Instagram Likes.

4. Gains valuable information

In social media marketing, it’s easy to listen from your customer’s feedback. You will discover how much the people like or dislike your products and/or services. By this, you can stand out from the competition because you know what your target customers like and these valuable insights will help you make smarter business decisions.

5. . To easily respond and communicate with customers

Studies show that customers appreciate companies or organizations that respond to their questions and/or complaints immediately. Also, if there is a problem with your company’s products or services, with the help of social media marketing you will know it right away by which you can resolve the issues immediately.

6. . They are all on social media, so should you

There exists social media marketing because everyone is already getting social. “Everyone” means from kids to oldies, to your potential customers, and of course, your competitors. And that being said, each of these people is having more than one social media accounts. You don’t want to fall behind, right?

7. . Most importantly, social media marketing will increase your sales

Many businesses have acquired their customers through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Because you’re getting social, you have a wide variety of audience and each of these people is your potential customers. Through social media, they can easily access your company’s products and services. It will keep your company’s name in front of them and will likely to buy from you when they need the products or services that you offer.

DOs and DON’Ts in Social Media Marketing

True businessmen and/or businesswomen should always think ahead of time about the possible results of your decisions or actions regarding your business. It will help you avoid mistakes or, best case, succeed. Here are the dos and don’ts when marketing your company’s brand identity through social media.

Dos

Web Design & Interactive Content
As much as possible, make some time in interacting with your followers. You can comment, or like , or ask them questions or a poll that will inspire them to respond, or do anything interactive just to let them know that you are there, you care about them and you value their opinions.
Use eye-catching posts
People on social media don’t want to see boring stuff. So as much as possible, be creative in posting to your social media platforms in a way that you will inspire your audience to view your account, follow you, and encourage them to share your posts with their networks. Use some infographics, videos, gifs, or anything that will make your posts natural-looking and interesting.
Make it available for searching
Be sure that your page or account is visible to everyone whenever they search it. Optimization should also be kept in mind to maximize your social media marketing experience.
Re-use your content
This is a great way to save time in social media marketing; however, you should be thoughtful enough when reusing content. Produce something without using the same information over and over again. You can change the elements of your posts based on your target audience or based on the information you want to highlight.
Be prepared for the worst
Whatever you hear or see on social media, either good or bad, is a valuable information. You can use this information to make better services and performance. You should also be open-minded and be prepared enough for hateful feedbacks about your brand. During situations like this (or even worse), just stay calm because you already have your plan b to z.
Know your purpose why you’re on social media
Always remember why you’re on social media first and foremost. Be sure to set realistic and attainable goals and take note of it to test the things that work (or don’t work) for you. By this, you can easily adapt to social media marketing.
Measure your success in an effective manner
Be sure to have an effective way of measuring success (not too fancy and not too simple) to know the true Return On Investment (ROI) of your social media marketing strategy. When you create or plan something, make sure that it will fit your company’s goals and expectations.
Know the trend

There are certain businesses that failed simply because they did not follow the trend. So be sure that your company is being innovative and is providing the latest demand of your potential clients. Also, work with your social media marketing strategy in a way that it will be interesting to present the same information to your networks.

Make sure that you won’t let just anyone represent your brand
It is important that the message of your social media strategy is to let your audience know who you are and what you believe in as a company. So don’t let just anyone like your customers, not even your employees’ hateful comments about your company represent your brand. So be sure that you treat them well.
Familiarize your audience
You should do your homework in knowing what your audience wants, what topics they are interested in, what other sites they participate, what other pages they like, and all of those basic things so you will know how to catch their attention.

Don’ts

Do not ignore your audience
This is one of the most important things to keep in mind. Do not ignore your audience. Just because one certain person commented an unfavorable and hateful feedback, doesn’t mean you will just leave it as it is. This will affect other people’s view on your company, so don’t just ignore it, or delete it. What you have to do is give him/her remedies or suggestions that will help, not just the person involved but also your company.
Do not use robots in social media conversation
Do not use automated help desk representative as it will not give the proper and right solution for your clients. If so, this will make your clients frustrated that they cannot even talk to a real representative from your company. So be sure to provide them with someone who knows entirely what the company is all about.
Do not be impolite
You cannot undo the things that you’ve done. This also applies to social media marketing, so do not be impolite when conversing with someone online. You can disagree with your audience and/or competitors but there is no need to be impolite. No matter how trashy the other person’s attitude might be, just stay calm and be respectful. If not, then it will only take one screenshot to kick your company out in the market.
Do not do it just because you think you have to do it
Just because you think you are obliged to do something just to keep up with the competition, doesn’t mean you really have to do it. If you do, be sure that you have really planned and prepared for it and you are ready to commit yourself, your team, and your company with it.
Do not use the same approach to different social media platforms
If you are using the same strategy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many different others, you may want to consider changing your strategy. Your audience from Facebook is way more different compared to your audience on Twitter or Instagram. So be sure to use different approaches in using different social media platforms.
Do not be nameless and faceless
Let your audience know that you are real people with real goals and real intentions. You can add personal notes to your social profiles or you can post your photos around the office doing some stuff. This will make your audience think that you are being friendly and being sincere, thus, making them interested in the products and services you offer and the company as a whole.
Do not just see your audience as prospects only
It is not enough that you have followers who just sign up or follow you for updates. If your company is looking forward to increasing your customers and not just see them as prospects, then you should have a more personalized and meaningful conversation with your audience.
Do not be too vague on your business offer
As much as possible, market your products and services and not your company as a whole. Be specific about what these products and services can do in addressing the needs or problems of your clients and potential clients.
Do not forget your followers are great resource of information
Now that you have your social media followers, it is easy for you to know the things that you might need for your business. You can conduct surveys or even their positive and/or negative comments can greatly help you. Using their given information, it can help you in making better business decisions.