Categorized as Social Media

A Guide to Social Media Marketing

social-media-videos
by Andre Oentoro Originally published   ·  Updated 

Social media has been a huge part of everyone’s lives. Many people rely on the platform to catch up with current information and connect with others. In 2021, it’s estimated that over 3.78 billion people worldwide own social media accounts, making it the most used internet platform on earth.

Having social platforms allows users to share daily life, connect with others, and even run errands like shopping. This activity has become a new norm in modern society. It offers convenient options to purchase the goods, but it also simplifies the buying process where people can receive orders without going out.

If you run a business, you know how beneficial it is to build an online presence through social media. With the user’s massive number, social media has become an ideal medium to promote your brand better

When dealing with social media marketing and creating videos for social media, it is very important to keep in mind that you can’t use any song that you’d like, that’s why having a subscription to a royalty-free music platform is a great way of having a huge number of music and sound effects at your disposal.

However, you would need an understanding of social media marketing before introducing your brands online. The knowledge will help you prepare great tactics to win the campaign. Knowing the correct social media marketing strategy can increase the chance of getting the goals.  

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is the process of using social media platforms and websites to connect with the audience and promote your product through content. The action will help you reach out to a broader audience, generate leads, and eventually increase sales.  

Running a social media campaign can be a lot more different compared to typical marketing advertising. The reason is that every social platform simply differs from each other. 

Understanding each social network’s character will help you manage your marketing strategy better. Eventually, you can come up with the right content for your audience.

The data below identifies the difference between each social media platform.

PlatformUsers (in billions)AudienceUsage
Facebook2.8Gen X
Millennials
Advertising
Brand awareness
Instagram1Mostly millennialsVisual media
Brand awareness
Advertising
Customer-generated content
Twitter0.29Mostly millennialsCustomer service
Public relation
Linkedin0.65Baby boomers
Gen X
Millennials
Business relationship
Business development
Employment marketing
TikTok1.1Millennials
Gen Z
Build audience
Brand awareness
Advertising
User-centric content
Pinterest0.5Younger baby boomers
Older millennials
Inspiration
Visual advertising
YouTube2Millennials
Gen Z
Entertainment
Brand awareness

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

The vast number of active users on social media enables brands to reach out to a broader audience. By implementing the right marketing strategy, businesses can benefit from social media usage to promote their product more efficiently.  

1. Raise Awareness

The sheer number of people using social media is one major reason businesses should start their official accounts. Given that there is a huge population scrolling through the platform, you have a big chance to spread awareness about your brand quickly. 

Social media decreases the gap between brands and customers. People can easily interact with brands through social content on the business platform. The content can help brands raise awareness effectively. It can be easily shared across different social networks in the space of a short time. That way, more people will acknowledge your brands even from another platform.

2. Drive More Traffic

As suggested from the point above, social media content is incredibly spreadable through multiple platforms. This increases your chance of getting discovered by many. 

When people find you through your content and intend to learn more about you, the next thing they do is visit your website. The website presents complete information about your brands. You can include the link in your video content or social post that goes straight to your page. 

The more you share your content, the more likely people will check on your website to get full information. Eventually, you will gain massive traffic from your social media content.

social media users
Social Media Users in 2021

3. Improve Search Engine Rank

Landing on top of a search engine is a big deal for every business. It’s the chance of getting leads and conversions in the first place. 

Users will be more interested in clicking on the first result page for the keyword they enter rather than tapping on the next page. Having a top search result often implies website credibility. That’s why many businesses compete in ranking higher on the search result for that purpose.

Your social media content will help you land on the first page through its engagement. The more people engage with your content, the higher chance of your site being discovered. That’s because social engagement signifies the number of people who interact with your content, which helps the search engine identify your brand.

4. Build Brand Loyalty

When you produce content on your social media account, you have the chance to engage with the audience better. Interacting with customers is the key to building customer loyalty. When you intensely connect with them and offer a handful of solutions, you increase their satisfaction with your brand.

Brand loyalty is crucial for every business to keep their clients in their hands. It also strengthens your position as a loved brand for their problems. 

Your social media content helps build a connection with your customers. Creating content can improve your service in a more direct way that people love.

5. Increase Conversions

Advertising your product or service on social media is one of the best ways to improve conversion rates. People who already follow your account are more likely an excellent lead asset. 

Your followers can be easily hooked whenever you share a brand-new product. That’s because you have to build a robust platform through updated content. People come first for the content, then the product. 

When you have an influential presence, promoting products won’t be that difficult. Your audience has trusted your platform to gain information. They actually find what you offer will help them solve the problems. 

Tips to Create Social Media Marketing Strategy

Producing the right content for the right audience can be daunting. If you hesitate to start your social media marketing tactics, check out the following tips below. 

1. Know Your Goals

Creating a winning marketing strategy requires a clear objection and goals that you want to pursue—having no plans indicates bad starting points that won’t lead you anywhere. Before producing your content, you must know what you want to achieve with that campaign. 

To start out, you can begin with a S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) move. Without a straightforward objection, you can’t define the right action that brings a business result. Every step should adhere to SMART goals, which you can analyze by the end of it.

When you finally know your social media content and how it leads you to achieve goals, your next action becomes clearer. Thus, it’s essential to set your marketing objection right before you propose making the right content.

2. Determine Buyer Persona

Think about the people you’re trying to reach and the reason why. Will they benefit from your brands? Or will your product or service solve their problem?

You answer these questions by researching who your target audience is. Defining audience or buyer persona will help you craft the suitable content that fits their perspective. If you ignore the research, you’ll end up making content for the wrong audience. That way, you lose the chance of getting possible conversions.

Understanding your buyer persona allows you to craft the right content. It’s essential to hook their interest from the beginning. Once people love your content and find it helpful, they won’t hesitate to connect with your brand deeper. 

3. Choose A Social Platform

Incorporating social content must adhere to each platform’s personality. Since there are tons of social networks on the internet, each carries different features and benefits for the brand. 

Insanely popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have their own identities that you should pay attention to. Based on the above table, Facebook is famous for generation X and millennials. In contrast, TikTok is used by many of generation Z. From this information, you can use a different platform for marketing your product.

For example, if you aim to reach out to Generation Z, promoting Facebook won’t be a great step. This generation often perceives Facebook as an old platform, while generation X still depends on the network to collect new information.  

Therefore, it’s essential to know which platform you’re going to use in order to advertise your brands better. Ignoring the social network’s characteristics won’t give you the desired outcomes as you started the strategy in the wrong way.

4. Set A Content Schedule

One of the best methods to building an audience is to regularly update your platform. Surely, you don’t want people to see your accounts as graveyards for how little you upload content. It will leave a bad impression, especially on those who visit your page for the first time.

Keeping your social accounts updated is crucial to make people believe how professional you are in the business. That’s why it becomes vital to post useful content on your platform frequently. You can manage content posting by setting up the schedule for a week or two. 

When you have your content scheduled, you won’t have to worry about losing your audience anymore. You can use your time to research more about upcoming campaigns or plan content that people will love. 

5. Measure the Metrics

Lastly, analyzing every social media content is vital to improve your marketing strategy. 

Here are some important metrics to measure:

  • Engagement
  • Reach
  • Impression
  • Profile visit
  • Followers
  • Video view
  • Mention
  • Tags
  • Shares

When you study your past advertising, you will learn the metrics that imply its success. For example, you get to know the number of social engagements on each post, the view number if you uploaded video content, how many people share your post, and many more.

From this information, you can conclude whether your tactic is successful and what you can improve for the next campaign. You will also learn the factors that might influence the popularity of your content. 

Bottom Line

Many businesses have used social media marketing to improve their online presence and increase awareness. The strategy includes creating the right content for the right audience. When you have set your audience, you can easily produce content that suits them. 

Social media marketing also enhances your chance of getting discovered by many. That way, you can improve your page rank and eventually drive more visitors to your page. As a result, you can generate higher conversions with the content from your social media. 

Before planning your marketing strategy, make sure to checklist all the tips above to achieve your goals. Preparing your tactics can help you narrow down the necessary action that’s needed for your business.  

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About the Author

Natasha Rei is the Digital Marketing Manager of Explainerd, an explainer video production agency. She ensures strategic goals are met by directing online and social media campaigns.

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