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5 Things You Need For An Effective Social Media Strategy

Today, an ineffective social marketing strategy can be the death of your business.

There are literally thousands of people searching social media every day who would follow you – if only they knew about you.

There are many ways to improve your social media strategy, even if it’s not clear to you at the present moment.

These five strategies, if done correctly, are all you need to harness the fundamentals and create an effective social media strategy for your business.

5. Show Off (YOUR Personality)

First of all, it’s easy to be inauthentic on social media.

Social cues present in verbal communication are just not possible via Twitter and Facebook.

Most social platforms operate best on quick snapshot reflections rather than thorough, detailed reflections of how you feel.

Even though capturing your tone is difficult on social, it is vital to your success.

There are tons of ways to show off your actual personality and get the tone of voice just right. All it takes is letting your own personality shine through.

Off-the-cuff commentary and genuine humor is social media marketing gold!

4. Be Customer Focused

Many people want to use social media as a forum for customer service.

An insightful article from Sprout Social points out that Social Listening Tools are a great way to solve customer service issues.

There are tons of added benefits to using a Social Listening Tool .. like collecting specific phrases people use when discussing your products.

However, the most important thing is that you are solving customer relations issues faster than ever.

3. Build Buyer Personas

You need to know who to target with your awesome content, right?

Finding your audience means having a strategy to segment demographics based on more than one or two features.

For example, just because your core demographic is between 18-30 does not mean you should ignore 50+ folks who share similar interests.

Building personas can be done either via existing customer information data or be based on an idealized customer.

Luckily, Facebook Ads software has come a long way and is now intuitive and easy to use for segmenting target audiences and researching search personas.

To learn more about this tactic, check out this post from Social Media Examiner entitled, “How to Develop Buyer Personas Using Facebook Insights.”

2. Adopt A Unique Social Media Strategy (By Platform)

In 2018, the trend of sharing the same creative content across all platforms is going the way of the dodo bird.

As more data is collected on Instagram and LinkedIn, social media marketers can now state conclusively that each platform should have its own content strategy.

Start with an audit of your social platforms to isolate where the holes are.

After that, identify your top performing posts by platform. From here, you should start to get a good idea on which content works best for each social media channel.

1. Create CTA Content

Finally, nothing in business should be done without a stated goal and a specific call-to-action.

It is imperative to have a goal with your social media strategy that tackles business outcomes.

Business outcomes could be

  • Event sign ups
  • Booked consultations
  • Downloads of your long-form content
  • Subscribing to your newsletter or podcast

An effective social media strategy should be a problem-solving tool for your business.

It should also be a problem-solving tool for your customers!

Make sure each piece of content conveys that with a clear call-to-action.

The Bottom Line

Research indicates that, from a business perspective, having a strong social media presence is a great lead generator.

It also solves for brand awareness.

All it takes is following through with these five strategies for you to start building a solid social media foundation.

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Why Social Media Is Important for Business Marketing

Let’s start with one simple fact: your business needs a social media presence.

It doesn’t matter if you run a small local shop or a big national company. Social media is an essential piece of your business marketing strategy.

Social platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and boost your leads and sales. With more than three billion people around the world using social media every month, it’s no passing trend.

What you might not know is that you’re ready to get your company’s social media off the ground right now. You don’t need to know every intimidating buzzword or have the magic number of followers. You can get started immediately—and even enjoy yourself in the process.

Here are six reasons why investing in social media is a wise business move.

Build Awareness

If people don’t know about your business, they can’t become your customers. Social media boosts your visibility among potential customers, letting you reach a wide audience by using a large amount of time and effort. And it’s free to create a business profile on all the major social networks, so you have nothing to lose.

Define what you want to get out of social media to develop a social media strategy. Do you want new customers to discover your services? Do you hope to bring more local shoppers into your stores? By keeping your strategy specific, you can determine which social media channels are the best fit for your business.

COMMUNICATE AUTHORITY

Customers are increasingly savvier and more discerning about which businesses they support. Before making a decision, they’ll do a quick search to browse your website and social media.

Will they find an empty storefront or a rich source of information? Setting up robust profiles that you update frequently with relevant content will build your brand’s authority and make sure you make a positive first impression through social media, showing that your business is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and approachable.

Look for ways to demonstrate your expertise as a thought leader in your industry—like writing pieces related to your expertise or expanding on your company’s mission. By showing what your business offers and values, you will establish confidence in potential customers.

SHOW AUTHENTICITY

Customers aren’t interested in businesses that publish dry, corporate-style social media posts.

Instead, let your brand’s personality shine through in everything you share on social media. What does your brand voice sound like? How does it represent who you are?

Practice getting your tone just right, whether it’s casual and funny or formal and friendly. Be true to who you are, not who you think you should be. Followers want to see real people behind your social profiles. Show them.

ENCOURAGE ENGAGEMENT

Social channels evolve, constantly releasing new features, and this rapidly changing environment can be intimidating for some business owners.

But remember: you don’t have to do everything. Play with new ways to connect with your audience, and give yourself permission to learn as you go. One day, you could post a series of Instagram Stories to give customers a behind-the-scenes tour of your office. The next, you could host a quick Q&A session via Facebook Live video streaming. Over time, you’ll get a better idea of your followers’ preferences.

You can create engaging video content for social media with a simple setup—good lighting, a smartphone, and a tripod. Also, do a test run before you go live to make sure your internet connection or hotspot has enough speed to avoid delays and interruptions.

PROVIDE SUPPORT

Social platforms have successfully broken down barriers between companies and their customers. Now, instead of calling a customer service line, many people turn to Facebook or Twitter to solve problems or find information.

Develop your reputation as a responsive, caring brand by offering support through social channels:

  • Create a system for tracking customer comments, questions, and complaints on social media.
  • Respond as quickly as possible to questions and concerns.
  • Go out of your way to be positive and helpful.
  • Listen to criticism and make customers feel heard.
  • Know when to resolve public conversations in private messages.

GROW AFFORDABLY

Marketing costs add up, and not every business can afford huge campaigns. But you can get a lot of value for your dollar with social media advertising. Your business, regardless of size or budget, has an opportunity to grow your audience and reach your objectives through ads on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

When building an ad campaign, know who you’re trying to reach and what goal you want to achieve so you don’t waste any of your budget on unhelpful advertising. Avoid overly salesy ads, and opt for content that educates or entertains (or does both at the same time).

Social media is a crucial part of your business marketing, but it doesn’t have to be stressful to manage. Take the first step, create a profile, and start engaging with your customers.

How has social media proven to be a wise business move for you? Tell us in the comments below!