Social media marketing (SMM) is the utilisation of social media — the platforms on which users build social networks and then share information — in order to build a company’s brand, increase sales, as well as drive website traffic. As well as providing companies with a way to engage with current customers and reach new ones, SMM has purpose-built data analytics which allow marketers to track the success of their efforts and pinpoint even more ways to engage.
What Are The Advantages Of Social Media Marketing?
With such pervasive usage and versatility, social media is one of the most successful free channels for marketing your business at the moment. Here are some of the particular advantages of SMM:
- Humanise Your Business
Social media allows you to turn your company into an active member in your market. Your profile, posts and interactions with your users form an amicable persona that your audience will be able to familiarise and connect with as well as come to trust.
- Drive Traffic:
Among the link in your profile, blog post links in your posts, and your adverts, social media is a top channel for boosting traffic to your website where you will be able to convert visitors into customers.
- Generate Leads And Customers:
Also, you can generate leads and conversions directly on these platforms, through features such as Instagram/Facebook shops, direct messaging, call-to-action buttons on profiles, and appointment booking abilities.
- Increase Brand Awareness:
The visual nature of social media platforms gives you the opportunity to build your visual identity across vast audiences and boost brand awareness. Better brand awareness translates into better results with all of your other campaigns.
- Build Relationships:
These social media platforms open up both direct and indirect lines of communication with your followers. Through this you can network, gather feedback, hold discussions as well as connect directly with individuals.
How Can You Put Together A Social Media Marketing Strategy?
Step 1: Examine your buyer personas and audience
The primary step to creating an SMM strategy is to define who your buyer personas and audience are so you are able to target their needs and interests correctly.
Step 2: Determine which social platforms you’ll want to market on
As a social media marketer, it’s very important that you determine which platforms you’re going to distribute your content on. There’s not necessarily a correct or incorrect answer when it comes to which social channels your business should utilise.
Step 3: Determine your most important metrics and KPIs
No matter your aims or industry whether business, entertainment or any other niche, your social media strategy has to be data-driven. This means focusing on the social media metrics that matter. As opposed to focusing on vanity metrics, dig into data which aligns directly with your goals.
Step 4: Get to know your competition
A competitive analysis gives you the opportunity to understand who the competition is as well as what they’re doing well (and then not so well). You’ll get a great sense of what’s expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own.
