Social media marketing is a great way to connect with customers and promote your brand. It can help you build an engaged community, generate traffic to your business, and advertise your products or services to your target audience. With modern technology, new social media features & platforms are appearing every day, and deciding which platform to go with can seem quite exasperating.
You may be wondering how to get started with social media marketing and whether your business needs it all. Let’s look at some of the most frequented social media platforms right now, followed by a deep dive into the many ways you can benefit from adding social media to your marketing strategy.
Social Media Platforms
Here are a few of the most popular social media platforms and what they’re best for:
1. Facebook
As the most popular and widely used social networking site, Facebook has become an indispensable tool for businesses since its inception. It provides advanced advertising tools as well as organic reach, to its wide range of active users. There’s also Facebook Marketplace, which connects buyers to sellers (and vice versa) across its platform.
2. TikTok
You’ve probably heard of TikTok, as recently there’s been a surge in its popularity for the short-form videos. It is considered one of the leading platforms for community building, after YouTube. TikTok is proving to be effective for both B2C & B2B industries for increasing brand awareness and user-generated content.
3. Instagram
Known as the go-to place for sharing visually captivating content, Instagram also sets itself apart by now providing advanced ecommerce tools. This makes it a particularly difficult platform to compete with, as users can discover brands, buy & sell their products or services, and complete a transaction without ever leaving the app.
4. Twitter
Unlike Instagram, Twitter focuses on words. Since the days of 140-character Tweets, the platform has grown to include an audio tool called Twitter Spaces, a community-building tool called Twitter Communities, and Twitter Moments, which allow you to share fascinating experiences with your followers.
5. LinkedIn
With a clearly defined audience, LinkedIn provides working professionals with opportunities to expand their networks and explore new career paths. It is an excellent platform for B2B enterprises wishing to find key decision-makers and establish an industry-specific network.
6. YouTube
Considered to be the finest platform for building an engaged community, YouTube is the world's second most viewed website. Users tend to remain longer on the platform because it includes largely long-form content, making it an ideal medium for sharing informative and educational content.
7. Snapchat
Being the first of its kind, Snapchat introduced the creating and sharing ephemeral content. Unlike the Mission Impossible tape which would self-destruct after the message was deciphered, the content on Snapchat disappears after 24 hours. Despite the launch of Instagram Stories, Snapchat still remains popular among young adults.
8. Pinterest
Providing users with option to create visual storyboards, Pinterest, where users go to find everyday ideas for everything, from fashion to home decor. It’s a great place to learn about a new business or look for a new product. Pinterest allows brands to tell their tales through visual stories, and as such is a remarkable discovery tool.
9. Clubhouse
Entering the market with its invitation-only setup, Clubhouse made an immediate impact on the industry. The platform is now available to everyone in the world, on both iOS and Android devices. It allows the users to initiate conversations on the audio-only site, and enables businesses to build lasting customer relationships.
FUN FACT: More than half of the world’s population uses social media platforms in one form or another.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
There are numerous reasons why your business should engage in social media marketing. Here’s a list of some of the most compelling factors to think about:
1. Boost your brand's visibility
You’re missing out on the opportunity to reach hundreds, if not millions, of people if you do not have a presence on social media. By increasing customer engagement, social media can help your business increase its exposure.
Reposts, comments, shares, and likes are some of the examples of social interactions that you make online with your customers. Social media marketing can help you achieve your business goals, e.g. driving traffic to your website for lead generation and sales.
2. Increase lead generation & conversions
Since you’re visible to individuals who have chosen to engage with you, by following your profile, promoting & sharing your product or service on social media is a straightforward approach to drive lead generation, conversions, and sales.
Here are some ideas for how you can use social media to increase your lead generation:
Foster meaningful conversations & healthy competition by organizing Q&A sessions, polls and contests for your visitors & followers to participate in
Utilize link building in your blogs & social media profiles to the fullest; the links should be relevant to your niche and business offerings
Share important updates, product launches or exciting news about your business by going live from your specific social media platform
Implement social media marketing campaign, on at least one of your channels to help achieve your business objectives
3. Build lasting customer relationships
You can create long-term relationships with your social media followers by interacting and engaging with them. This can be accomplished by connecting with them on your social media posts, responding to their questions & comments in your timeline, and offering any assistance they may require.
To establish trust with your community, you can show them how much you respect their feedback and support. You might ask your followers questions about their experience about your product or help ease their pain points. You can even create freebies to encourage engagement and brand recall.
4. Watch and learn from your competition
Social media is a terrific way to keep track of your competitors' social media strategies, items they are advertising, campaigns they are running, and their rate of involvement with their followers.
You can use social media to monitor the current trends to help shape your strategy. You can see what is and isn’t working for your competitors, and can even assist you ensure that your marketing stands out and is distinctive to your brand.
It’s evident that social media marketing is exceptionally essential to the success of your business today. However, your strategy will vary depending on which social networks your target customers are most active on and how you can add value to their most pressing concerns. This will help you create content that captivates, amazes and retains your target customers, and when they’re ready to buy, they'll buy from you.
In the comments below, let us know:
Which social media platform(s) are your customers most active on?
What challenges (if any) are you facing while engaging with them online?
Are there any additional benefits of social media marketing, that you have experienced and would like to add to the list above?