12 social media marketing strategies to grow your company

Digital marketers now have access to strong tools like social media. It powers all aspect of a brand’s operations, including marketing, customer support, sales, and online sales, for both big and small companies.

Everywhere they work, marketing departments are trying to get better at social media marketing. This type of online marketing makes use of social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook as promotional tools.

89% of participants in a 2020 Sprout Social survey stated they make purchases from brands they follow on social media. Additionally, the survey demonstrated that marketers aren’t making the most of social data. Although there are still customers, marketers can still improve their use of this technology.

Who does marketing on social media?

Social media marketing is beneficial for all kinds of organizations, but some are more suited for social media marketing than others. LinkedIn is a great place for B2B buyers, whereas Facebook and Instagram are more geared toward B2C users. However, as long as a business is aware of its target audience’s location and preferred method of content consumption, it can leverage any platform.

Many direct sales organizations have perfected the art of creating content and growing an audience of followers. Social media is used by businesses like LuLaRoe, Park Lane Jewelry, and Pampered Chef to highlight their goods. Recently, a four-part documentary on Amazon Video included LuLaRoe. Despite having millions of social media followers, the company’s reputation has eroded over time as a result of dubious business activities.

It might be difficult to develop a social media marketing plan that works. It’s a skill that needs to be prepared and used with the same consideration as any marketing strategy or campaign.

Tips for social media marketing

These accounts were administered by junior staff members when social media marketing initially started. It was widely held that all it took to be a successful social media marketer was for someone to be an avid user of social media. Additionally, younger workers were familiar with social media in those early days. Today’s typical social media manager has approximately 40 years of expertise and is well-versed in marketing.

Effective administrators of social media marketing must also be skilled marketers. It’s critical to comprehend how a method like social media might be incorporated to boost sales, keep devoted clients, and enhance engagement.

These 12 social media marketing pointers will assist companies in achieving their desired outcomes.

1. Establish objectives and goals

By establishing goals and objectives for their use of the platforms, marketers may begin to improve the success of their social media marketing. The objectives of this strategy should ideally coincide with those of the company. Setting these objectives will also make it easier to assess how well the social media marketing campaigns are doing.

SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely—should be used by businesses. Put them in writing and try to follow them as a guide for running every campaign. These might consist of the following:

• a 25% increase in social media-related website traffic during the following six months;
• Next month, 15% more leads from LinkedIn will be converted; additionally
• acquiring 100 new Instagram followers as a result of the subsequent campaign.

Making sure the objectives line up with the marketing plan will make it easier to see the impact of social media.

2. Determine the intended audience

It is advantageous for businesses to gather information on their current clients. This data makes it evident who is making purchases and how they are interacting with a company on the internet.

Marketers should investigate the channels that their target audience is likely to use after defining their target audience. Instagram is a good way for a fashion firm to connect with their target audience. LinkedIn will be looked at by a SaaS provider whose customers are more business-focused. Businesses should spend time where their target audience spends its time since diverse audiences are drawn to different social media platforms.

3. Make the appropriate platform selections

Even though diverse consumers utilize various social media sites, launching social media marketing campaigns across all of them at once isn’t the best course of action. To begin with, marketers should focus on learning a few social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook are important business channels. However, other platforms like YouTube and Pinterest are also useful for marketing and promoting products. Each has a specific use case and location in the market.

For instance, Twitter is a fantastic platform for exchanging ideas and getting up-to-date information, but posts are only allowed to be 280 characters long. Since LinkedIn is the gathering place for all business people, decision-makers should be found there. Facebook and Instagram are great at telling stories visually with photos, clips, and live feeds. Organizations may consider branching out into new areas once their following has increased and their operations have stabilized on a few social media platforms.

4. Create or follow a content plan.

Companies need to be very selective about the content they share on social media. It is not appropriate for marketers to post for the sake of posting. One platform that marketers may use to spread their message is social media. Multichannel marketing refers to the distribution of similar information and promotions to prospects and customers through many channels.

Although it’s always a good idea to create articles that are timely and relevant, organizations should make sure that information that is released on other channels may also be reused for social media. Businesses should repeatedly promote their new blogs on social media when they launch. To maximize the impact, marketers should disperse promotional content over a few weeks at different times. The same goes for new offerings and gated content. When a new offer begins, marketers should be sure to disseminate that content. In order to increase visibility, firms should launch a multi-week promotional campaign in conjunction with the scheduling of a new webinar or the publication of a white paper.

5. Continually publish content

The worst thing a social media manager can do is to be inconsistent. A platform should have a steady flow of material and be treated seriously if time and resources are being invested in it. People who enjoy the shared material are drawn to a brand or page and follow it. Regular posting not only improves brand recognition but also fosters client loyalty. It is hoped that followers will spread the word about the brand and engage in more verbal marketing.

The posting schedule is filled with content creation that is consistent. However, it’s a good idea to review what has previously worked, recycle the most pertinent items, and give them a fresh perspective when the posting schedule dries up and there is a break in new content. Additionally, this is an excellent moment to establish and maintain one-on-one relationships with the audience by being approachable.

6. Tell a story with images

Text articles are an excellent means of disseminating information, but videos and graphics boost interaction. Facebook and Instagram both provide built-in tools for making videos without the need for pricey production gear. However, care should be used when using these instruments. It is imperative for marketers to ensure that any videos uploaded on a company website are of a high caliber.

A multitude of graphic design tools are at one’s disposal to assist in creating high-quality images for social networking. Although having a creative eye is always beneficial, Canva and Visme are among the apps that make it simple to generate images that are the ideal size for social media.

7. Keep an eye on talks and establish connections

On social media, followers often interact with brands directly. Social media managers have a fantastic opportunity to build trusting relationships with their audience through this. While customers occasionally contact us with unfavorable feedback, most of the time they have amazing stories to tell. A brand gains more respect in these situations—as well as many others—when it interacts and replies.

Using social listening technologies to monitor, evaluate, and participate in online conversations is also a smart idea. At times, consumers write about brands rather than sending direct messages or letters to them. Having social listening tools in place helps businesses find out where people are and what they are talking about.

The following are some useful pointers for fostering these connections on social media:

• replying to direct messages and comments;
• retweeting and reposting noteworthy articles and achievements;
• use social media to ask questions about customer service and
• answering comments and grievances; and
• answering without delay.

8. Make use of automation and scheduling tools

Marketers have a lot on their plate between responding to the community, establishing connections, and producing fresh content. However, there are ways to save time, such as by utilizing automation and scheduling systems.

Marketing teams can organize, manage, and track their social media performance with the help of tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Sprinklr. It could be beneficial to organize your future posts by writing and scheduling them in advance. Social media managers can now devote less effort to crafting unique pieces that better fit the content plan.

There are other automations available, such chatbots for social media platforms that can automatically respond to inquiries from brands. While they wait for a response from the business, consumers can use these notifications to navigate to FAQs or other support resources.

9. Keep an eye on trends

Staying up to date with the latest trends in the constantly evolving social media world is imperative for marketers. Every social media network keeps refining the way it presents material, frequently modifying its posting guidelines and algorithms. Marketers may utilize the correct strategies to get their content in front of the right users by keeping up with these changes.

There are content trends in addition to the technology-driven shifts in social media trends. Many of the trends used by marketers and advertisers today to connect more deeply and relatably with consumers are defined by TikTok. The following are some further trends:

• real-time video content
• messaging services to interact with clients;
• enhanced reality
• Facebook Reels and Instagram Stories; and
• marketing.

10. Follow the contest

Keeping an eye on the competitive environment is another method to remain ahead of the curve. Marketing managers can determine whether they are keeping up with the market by keeping an eye on what their competitors are doing. Additionally, marketers can observe how their rivals interact with an audience through their own channel.

It might be wise to investigate how a competitor’s strategy distinguishes them if they have a larger following and higher levels of engagement. A competitive analysis is a necessary step for marketers to determine what is and is not working.

11. Make use of analytics

Every social media network has built-in analytics. Metrics such as who follows a page, which postings generate interaction, and when to post are all trackable and can help improve social media marketing tactics.

Analytical tools can also be used to spot any modifications to the target audience. This will make clear which platforms a marketing team ought to leverage in order to interact with their target buyer profiles. Additionally, it might reveal information about the goods and services that the customer is interested in.

12. Encourage and publicize

Programs for social media marketing can become more effective with the help of social media marketing. Social media targeting is more sophisticated than ever, allowing campaign managers to microtarget their audience. Both explicit and implicit details are employed for this targeting. To reach a larger audience, marketing managers can also employ social media tracking pixels on company websites.

Social network advertising is a useful tool for marketers looking to boost website traffic, turn readers into qualified leads, and close deals on goods and services.