Social media is about relationships, not advertising
Don’t think of social media posts as just ads; think of them as two-way communication tools that will help you build lasting relationships. If you drown your community under posts or post promotional information on social media, you might be disappointed with the results.
Here are the tips to help you craft a social media marketing plan that will work for your business or blog:
Share useful content
Keep in mind that the material that you post will be of interest to your community. Valuable content can take many forms, and your social media posts should fall into at least one of the following categories:
- Newsworthy: Is the information you post entertaining? Unpublished? Unusual?
- Informative: Does the content allow readers to learn something about the topic that interests them? You can publish how-to videos and tutorials, for example.
- Productive: Will the information you share save readers time or money?
- Inspirational: Is the content inspiring for the reader, or will it have a positive impact on their life?
- Source of pride: We love to share information that makes us feel good. Make sure that the content you post will make the reader want to share it and allow them to affirm positive sides of their personality: intellect, humor or expertise.
Get to know your audience
Let’s imagine that your company designs a production tool intended for medium-sized businesses. In this case, a Facebook page might not be the best way to reach your target audience. Instead, you need to contact with company executives and other professionals likely to make purchases for the department in which they work. On the other hand, posts on LinkedIn will undoubtedly allow you to identify the companies and employees constituting your core target. Now imagine that you are selling ice cream at a physical point of sale. For this activity, whose potential consumers are more young adults or families with children, LinkedIn will probably be a waste of time. On the other hand, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will be valuable tools,
There are hundreds of social networks, ranging from web giants to small niche platforms. First, you need to determine exactly who you want to reach. Next, determine the social networks most likely to be used by your target audience, and which you must need to concentrate your marketing efforts on.
Choose your platforms
The best way to burnout on social media without getting the desired and necessary results is to be overly active on too many platforms. Indeed, this strategy may quickly overwhelm you and exhaust you.
It is recommended, on the contrary, to concentrate its efforts on a maximum of three social networks. But for that, make sure you have identified the most popular with your target audience. If you have great photos of your products and market your services to the world, then the image-driven platform Pinterest is arguably the best option. On the other hand, if you are the head of a restaurant, Yelp and Facebook are ideal, because they concentrate the recommendations and user reviews of such a service.
Define your goals and measure your results
How to define a successful social media marketing services campaign? Here are key performance indicators that will help you determine if you have achieved your goals:
Engagement: Are you attracting new fans? Are your posts the subject of comments, shares, likes and retweets? Do you have positive feedback regarding your posts? Remember, it’s better to attract ten super-engaged fans than 100 completely disengaged people who won’t follow your activity.
ROI: Yes, you can and should measure the ROI of your social media strategy. To do this, assign a monetary value to the time you spend on it. In particular, the expense of producing content for social networks (videos, professional photos, etc.) or the investment in supported publications must be taken into account. On Facebook, such publications are especially well-illustrated on the target audience’s news feed. Measuring ROI allows you to determine which posts have been most successful. This will make it easier for you to define your priorities for future content shares. If an advertisement, campaign or strategy generates a high return on investment, after taking into account all the costs mentioned above, then your money will have been well spent.
Listen to your fan’s
Have you ever had a relationship with a person who never listened to you? Horrible, isn’t it? However, the attention we pay to others must also be felt on social networks. Publishing compelling content is only part of the equation – It’s equally relevant what happens next.
Respond to user feedback and questions in a polite and professional tone (it will help set your brand tone for that). Take reviews with confidence and use them to improve your product or service. Always respond kindly and be sure to thank users for taking the time to contact you. Don’t forget to know about the steps that have been taken to correct any problems that they raise. More often than not, dissatisfied people just need to express their dissatisfaction. Show them you listen to them and you will have the chance to make them loyal supporters.
Wisdom of Life 