A Guide to Effective Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing mainly comprises of undertakings that involve social sharing of pictures, content, and videos for marketing one’s products and services, with the intent to increasing traffic or attention of the targeted demographic through effective social media channels like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
Marketing channels over time have evolved tremendously, and marketing through social media can aid any business since customers usually interact with brands through these channels. It is hence imperative that your company have a robust plan for effective social media marketing, and if this plan is executed properly then the results could be remarkable.
To ensure your plan is effective and attracts numerous viewers and customers, here are some infallible stratagems which I have listed for you in this guide to effective Social Media Marketing:
1. Webinars
All that is required for a webinar is a headset and a good internet connection. Many experts readily agree to share their know-how and proficiency through webinars, which is a great way to learn directly from the professionals while seated at your workstation.
There are three types of webinars which could be arranged:
• Customer Webinar: There are thousands of customers who use and love your products. Having them speak about their experience will definitely have a good impact on your business as this act would be purely educational and will not appear as a sales exercise to the viewers. It will additionally help you reach out to a larger audience.
• Industry Leader Webinar: The leaders of any given industry almost always provide an impartial opinion and view which the masses are actually eager to hear. A webinar as such with the current topic connected to your company’s product or service will definitely be a bonus to your marketing plan.
• Product Webinar: Organising product webinars will help your customers to clearly understand how a product/service works, while also providing you with an opportunity to clarify their doubts and answer their questions if any. A product webinar can be planned and should be organised keeping in mind the different time zones and industries so that a larger audience can be reached.
2. Podcasts
For those who prefer to listen in rather than see images or videos, podcasts are the best way to connect. Podcasts are nothing but theme-based audio bytes and are usually about 40 minutes long, but the shorter ones for 15 minutes are largely what most of the audio lovers like to listen to. Some of the advantages of Podcasts are:
- Your company gets a prospect to get in touch with influencers of your industry and institute a connection with them.
- You get to share important content with the target demographic. This content used for the podcast can be reused via email campaigns, newsletters or blogs, and can be a continuous process.
- You get an opportunity to take an imperative place in the trade as someone who puts in an effort to aid the community by sharing knowledge.
3. Influencer Marketing
It is easy to connect to people using social media, and if done properly and evocatively, one can connect to the influencers of the trade, involve them with your company and then take the conversation forward. Influencer marketing has often been misunderstood as celebrity endorsement, but this is a shallow way of looking at it. What influencer marketing really means is recognising a list of influencers from your business, mapping their social existence, and interacting with them on the platform they prefer.
4. Different Platforms
Having a profile on various social media platforms does not mean it will attract customers to your company automatically. You will need to plan and have different techniques to craft a unique strategy for every social media channel.
• Facebook: Marketing on Facebook starts with creating a Facebook business fan page. It is crucial to pay utmost attention to the designing of the page as this visual component will garner a larger impact on the viewers. Your page can be made interesting by posting images, videos, products with discounts, interesting articles, etc.
• Pinterest: Although Pinterest is a platform largely for the retail industry, several leading businesses showcase their products and use this image-based social media platform for brand promotions. Pinterest is really all about creating unique pinboards where customers or viewers re-pin them on their boards.
• Twitter: Twitter has become one of the most sought after social media marketing platforms, and with the right tweets you are sure to gain a lot of followers. You can combine your official tweets of product information and discounts with witty one-liners or an important news update. Twitter is dialogue-based, so ensure you always keep your followers engaged.
• LinkedIn: This is undoubtedly one of the strongest and most influential business platforms today. LinkedIn groups are a great way to connect to professionals who belong to the same industry as you, and garner deals and contracts. You can also recommend profiles and encourage people in your circle to recommend yours so that your business is seen as reliable and trustworthy.
• YouTube: There is nothing better than a powerful video to attract more customers for your business and what better platform than YouTube. A video sends an important message and people connect to it easily as it has all the essential words, pictures, actions, content etc. Once your video goes viral you can be rest assured you will significantly increase your customer base.
To conclude: Social Media Marketing Platforms are the most effective and powerful ways to reach out to your customers, new leads, as well as potential clients; it is hence imperative in our competitive world to have a great social media strategy. Utilise the power of ‘Social Media’ for your business and personal goals, and to reach out to your target audience by engaging more through your social media channels, especially since your brand is as good as your ‘Social Media’ presence. If you are consistent with your social media strategy and plans, your brand building and reach are bound to increase and pay off in the long run.
Use this step-by-step guide to effective Social Media Marketing to help you identify your social goals, engage audiences, and optimise your results! And, of course, I’d love to have you share your thoughts in the comments below!