“Don’t use social media to impress people – use it to impact people.” – Dave Willis
Stock photo: Megapixl Premium Stock Photos
Introduction
The use of social media networks (such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, LinkedIn, etc.) has become an integral part of our daily lives. The World Wide Web has significantly contributed to the popularity of social media networks. For people to interact, the internet provides an ideal platform. As a result of this interaction, the world has become a village with a rapid exchange of information. People’s spending patterns have been affected by the spread of information in such ways around the world.
What is social media marketing?
The term social media is applied to different types of media. Social media marketing refers to the process of attracting followers and gaining likes or shares with a company’s posts on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The content you post will determine what audience you are going after. Different types of people frequent various sites, so make sure your content targets them all. For example, if you’re targeting 18-24-year-olds. Then promote your products through Snapchat and Instagram Stories. These are platforms that teens prefer over other social networks.
7 Tips for starting social media marketing
- It’s all about quality, not quantity. With social media, you don’t need a zillion followers to have a successful profile-find the right people and interact with them.
- Start on your own turf: Make your company Facebook fan page, blog, and Twitter account before moving into the social territory. If you’re trying to reach other industries, take the time to learn their jargon. Then search for bloggers who write from that perspective. You’ll find your audience much faster.
- Be active: There is no such thing as too many tweets or posts if it’s done correctly. The more often you post, the more responses and engagement you’ll get. One of the most common mistakes newbies make in social media marketing is forgetting to upload any content! Keep in mind that content needs to be informative, valuable, and worth reading. Don’t post anything-consistency will yield better results.
- Interact: Like what you read? Share it! Have a response? Retweet it! These actions will start conversations among your followers, which can lead to other blogs being linked up. Don’t forget to engage your readers by asking questions and giving out prizes. For example, you could ask What’s your favorite dessert? With a poll option below so others could vote (hint: we sell cupcakes!).
- Entertain: Take advantage of the multimedia capabilities of social media. Photos, videos, and audio clips – they’re all great ways to add some pizzazz to your messages. As far as keeping things interesting goes, nothing beats humor. Instead of giving a run-of-the-mill status update, give us something witty or clever to keep our attention.
- Investigate social media sites: Explore different networks like Pinterest, Flickr, and YouTube to find appropriate platforms where you might want to promote your product. Some are specific to certain products while others are geared toward different types of audiences. Whatever the case may be, use these networks to attract potential customers and build relationships.
- Reach out to your supporters: Find groups of fans on various social media sites who share similar interests and connect with them. Give back by answering their queries, making recommendations, or providing exclusive offers for members only. When you gain enough influence and trust, your brand will be recognized by the community, without needing to do much work. To summarize: 1) Quality over Quantity 2) Use Your Own Turf 3) Stay Active 4) Interact 5) Entertain 6) Investigate Social Media Sites 7) Reach Out to Supporters
Types of content on social media
There are different types of content that a business can post on social media. The most important thing is to be selective in the content you create and post. For example, Facebook offers numerous options for posting photos, text, links, video clips, and other media formats. If a business only posts text-based posts, then it will not be able to use any of these other options to its full potential. When looking at what content should be posted, there are two main aspects: your company’s goals and audience interests.
Conclusion
While the jury is still out on whether social media is the key to a successful marketing strategy, social media has been on an upward trajectory for years. An authoritative statistic from Pew Research shows that 88% of US adults use at least one social networking site and 49% use multiple social sites. Social media, then, has become an effective tool for marketing your product or service because it’s such a well-established medium. With so many people using it, there’s no telling how far your reach can go.
