According to Sprout Social, 78% of consumers report increased trust for brands after experiencing their content on social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram. But how can businesses leverage these platforms for business promotion purposes?
Each social platform provides its own atmosphere and voice; however, your brand should remain consistent across them all. Regular posting shows your reliability to algorithms which then place your posts into newsfeeds more readily.
Identify Your Target Audience
When creating a social media profile for your business, you must provide information such as company name and contact info as well as an icon that symbolizes it – this will allow customers to quickly recognize posts by you when they appear in their feeds.
Step two is to identify your target audience. While this might sound simple, understanding who your ideal customer is is key to reaching them effectively through marketing efforts.
One way of doing this is to research your competitors. Figure out which types of content their audiences most appreciate, then apply this knowledge in your campaigns. Doing this will allow you to focus on the most successful strategies while minimizing time wasted on ineffective ones.
Create a Profile
Social media profiles provide the first impression for your business online. Make sure they communicate your values, demonstrate authority and reach your target audience effectively. Take note of other profiles on the platforms chosen as sources of inspiration.
Each platform requires its own voice and tone, so tailor yours appropriately. Avoid sounding too arrogant on LinkedIn while being more relaxed on Instagram or TikTok.
As part of your social media strategy, post regular content – text, images or videos – to your social media channels. Respond promptly to customer comments and questions while sharing helpful resources. Hootsuite is a useful social mention tool which will allow you to keep tabs on any conversations taking place online. Encourage customers to tag your business in their posts in order to gain user-generated content that can then be reposted back onto social media pages for maximum engagement.
Post Regular Content
Generating content that resonates with your target audience is one of the best ways to grow and convert followers into customers. Posting text posts, images, videos, infographics (which garner three times more shares than other types of media) and polls will all help reach them more effectively.
Consistency is also key. Businesses that post irregularly can lose the trust of their audience over time; by consistently posting, daily posts show your audience that you are reliable and committed to engaging them.
In order to maintain consistency, create a content calendar and use social media management tools like Planable’s automated scheduling solutions to schedule posts in advance. Monitor analytics and adapt your strategy based on what works. Plus, don’t forget automated scheduling solutions like these as they offer additional flexibility!
Engage With Your Audience
Content creation and posting are an effective way to engage your target audience on social media platforms such as Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok – each boasting high engagement rates that businesses can exploit.
Setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals will help ensure that your campaigns stay focused and on track. As digital landscape changes over time, it’s essential that your strategy evolves accordingly.
Remember that social media is a platform for building communities and relationships while sharing stories. People don’t care to be sold to; they want entertainment, education, and information instead. Tailor content specifically towards your audience interests and needs in order to create a loyal following that will support business expansion.
Monitor Your Performance
Measure the effectiveness of your social media strategies by monitoring their audience engagement levels, brand recognition and website traffic numbers – this data will allow for informed decisions on how best to utilize this cost-cutting promotional medium for your business.
Track how many visitors arrive on your website through social media by using tools like Google Analytics or Keyhole, adding in cost per conversion parameters so you can see exactly how much revenue has been generated from social media marketing campaigns.
Response time is another key metric to monitor; how fast your team responds to customer inquires can serve as an indication of customer service quality and may prompt you to consider adding more staff or revamping support processes.