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Social media was originally created for connecting friends. Over the years, it has evolved to become one of the best ways for brands to market their products and services. The world is ever-changing and changing alongside it will ensure that you stay relevant. Creating a social media account for your brand, and using it to promote your content and connect with your target audience can significantly boost your exposure.
If you are wondering how best to utilize social media platforms to market your brand, this article is here to help. You will be taken through the pillars of social media marketing, the pros and cons of social media marketing, and some of the most popular platforms you can leverage to get your brand’s message out there.
Pillars of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has several foundations, but we will focus on five main pillars. These pillars are the backbone of promoting your business on social media successfully.
Social Strategy
Publishing random content without a well-thought-out plan in place will inevitably end in a waste of time and money. Here are some important things to keep in mind when creating your strategy:
- Before choosing your preferred social media platform, determine your end goal. What are you trying to gain from marketing on social media? Are you trying to boost your engagements? Increase your reach? Drive sales? Having a solid answer to these questions will provide you with the clarity you need to proceed.
- Once you are aware of your goal, you can then pick a platform that can help you actualize said goals. It is best to opt for a platform most of your target audience uses. For example, businesses primarily targeted at the younger generation should opt for platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
- The type of content you want to share will also feed into the social media platform you use. If you want to focus on sharing videos, YouTube is better suited to that than WhatsApp.
Remember, flexibility is important when social media marketing is concerned. Your social strategy does not have to be set in stone. You can make changes when it is important to do so.
Planning and Publishing
Consistency is the spice of social media. You need to establish a presence before you can begin to reap the benefits of social media marketing. If you have a solid social strategy in place, planning to publish is the next step. Publishing content randomly and without planning first may leave you stuck in a rut for a long time.
Being consistent does not necessarily mean publishing content every day. However, do not leave too much time⏤say several weeks⏤between your last post and your next one. Creating a content calendar is a great way to keep track of your past and future publications. It can also help you stay consistent.
However, try not to sacrifice quality for quantity when publishing. Also, if you have curated a specific image for your brand, try to remain consistent with that image. Are you an inspirational brand? Do you focus on trendy content? An inconsistent brand image will not retain customers as they have no specific identity to associate you with.
Listening and Engagement
As you publish more content on your social media account, people will start conversations about your brand. They will leave comments on your posts, share your content, and even make posts about you without tagging you at all. You can use social media listening tools to effectively track your engagements.
Now, not all the engagement you get will be positive. When you get negative comments or reviews, it is best to listen before reacting. If the negative engagement stems from dissatisfied customers, address the issue immediately, and if you can, try to make it up to them.
You should also pay attention to your positive engagements. Engage them, feature them on your page, and use them to your advantage.
Analytics
You need to take note of the way your audience interacts with your content. Every social media platform has tools to help you measure your engagement and reach. There are also third-party analytics tools that will give you more detailed reports. You can use these to monitor how well your posts are doing. You will be able to determine what content is doing well and even what days they do well. Analytics will also give you a clear view of where you need to improve.
Advertising
Social media ads have become highly specific and effective. Putting out organic content is a great way to propel your social media marketing. However, as your brand grows, consider investing in paid social media advertising. You can choose a particular demographic to market your brand to.
Also consider partnering with influencers that fit within your market. They often have a strong hold over their audience, who are also your audience. The chances of widening your reach or improving sales increases they market your brand.
Advantages of Social Media Marketing
We have discussed the pillars of a strong social media marketing plan. Now, we will take a look at what you truly stand to gain by investing in social media marketing.
Cost Effectiveness
Social media marketing can be considered far less expensive when compared with traditional marketing. Because most platforms allow anyone to create an account for free in a matter of minutes, the price barrier to social media marketing is almost zero. This means you can establish your brand on social media for free before even considering paid ads or deals.
Wider Reach
In 2022, an estimated 4.5 billion people used social media worldwide. That’s more than half of humankind! That number is only going to grow as social media is fast becoming integral to day-to-day living. Once you sign up on a social media platform, you have the opportunity to market your brand to billions of people around the world.
Targeted Audiences
Although social media marketing can give your brand exposure to an unimaginable amount of people online, it also affords you the opportunity to market your brand to a specific demographic. You can achieve this through ads and by having a deep understanding of algorithms and search engine optimization. This way, you reach more people while simultaneously attracting only your desired audience.
Customer Satisfaction
It is easier to communicate and engage with your customers using social media. You get to see complaints and bad reviews in real time and can resolve them immediately. By doing this consistently, you begin to earn your customers’ trust. This will help you retain them even in the face of growing competition.
Increased Brand Awareness
Due to the large number of people using social media, establishing a strong presence will boost awareness about your brand. It will also be easier for you to strike deals with other brands, promote upcoming events, and generally encourage positive conversations about your brand. Furthermore, you can use this awareness to drive traffic to your website. This can boost your sales as more people interact with your site.
Easy Market Research
Social media makes it easy to carry out market research. You can use it to research what is trendy or what products people are more inclined to purchase. You can also study your competitors’ approach anonymously. Doing this can help you determine the best approach to remain unique and avoid any common pitfalls.
Insights & Analytics
With social media marketing, you can tell within a short while whether or not your strategy is working. With every social media platform having analytics, you can effortlessly measure your progress. It is also easy to ditch a stagnant strategy by simply deleting a post and uploading a new one.
You can also test out ideas and get feedback almost immediately. This ensures that you are not limited in your strategy.
Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing
It is impossible for anything to have so many perks and not have a few downsides. Social media marketing is accessible and promises incredible growth for your business. However, here are some cons you should look out for:
Time-Consuming
Social media requires consistency; both in creating content and in engaging with your audience. Growing your followers, building your audience, and creating awareness about your brand online will take some time. However, good things come to those who wait⏤and work hard.
Vulnerable Brand Image
It is common knowledge that ‘the internet never forgets’. Information spreads like wildfire on social media and is long-lasting. Every negative review you have can do serious damage to your brand’s reputation. Nevertheless, if you have a skilled public relations manager, you can easily avoid any severe or permanent harm.
Unpredictable Platforms
Each social media platform has its specialised algorithm and policies, and their owners make changes to them often. All of a sudden, content you are used to seeing do well stops bringing in so much growth. This volatile nature of social media platforms can discourage companies from exploring its benefits. Regardless of the instability, having a solid yet flexible social strategy can help you bounce back quickly.
Note:
It is important to note that despite the drawbacks of social media marketing, the pros outweigh the cons. A business without at least one functioning social media account will struggle to compete with brands that use social media.
10 Most Popular Platforms for Social Media Marketing
There are so many social media platforms out there today. Here are the 10 most popular ones for social media marketing.
Undoubtedly one of the most popular social media platforms, Facebook has approximately 3 billion monthly active users (MAUs). It allows written and video content and also features a messaging app. You can create a business page, groups, and communities easily which you can use to attract and retain customers.
YouTube
A platform known primarily for sharing videos, YouTube is perfect for brands focusing on video marketing. It generated roughly $40 billion in revenue in 2022. It also recently launched YouTube Shorts which allows you to post shorter video content.
Instagram is owned by Facebook and also allows you to create a business profile. It limits texts and prevents you from putting links in your posts. However, you can still harness the various business tools available on Instagram. You can share your content through pictures, videos or reels, stories, and live videos.
TikTok
This platform is primarily dedicated to sharing short videos between 10 and 60 seconds long. It allows you to add sound effects, hashtags, captions, transitions, and even filters to your videos before posting. If you are aiming to build an audience of mainly teenagers and young adults, TikTok is the platform for you.
WhatsApp started out as a messaging platform but has quickly become a staple for small business marketing. WhatsApp Business allows businesses to share updates and offer round-the-clock customer support for their customers.
X (formerly Twitter)
X is known primarily for written text, popularly known as tweets, but also incorporates images and videos. It prioritises real-time information, and as such, is mostly used by brands to connect with their customers rather than just sharing content. X is a great platform for starting conversations and engaging in public conversations with your audience.
Any professional knows LinkedIn to be the platform for networking with other professionals no matter the industry. It is a great place for brands to connect with a more corporate audience and even recruit employees for their business.
This is widely known as the platform for finding inspiration. It relies heavily on visual content. If your brand is focused on beauty, DIY, interior design, or fashion, Pinterest is a great place to drive traffic to your website. Create content that’s catchy enough for your audience to ‘pin’ on their Pinterest moodboards and increase your chances of making a sale by up to seven times.
If you are very particular about reaching a specific demographic, Reddit is a great place to start. It allows users to create subreddits and communities that are incredibly niche. However, it is more suited for connecting with potential customers or people who may already be interested in your product, rather than promotion.
Snapchat
Although Snapchat is primarily an instant messaging app like WhatsApp, it also offers targeted advertising. In 2022, it generated $4.6 billion in ad revenue. These ads are often placed between stories and users will see them as they swipe. It also allows brands to create specific filters that will help create brand awareness and build engagement among users.
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