If you're running a small business and managing your own marketing, then you're likely spending a significant amount of time on social media. However, if you're one of those who've had enough of spending hours and considerable amounts of money on social media marketing strategies without good results, then read this text to the end because we're bringing you 5 tips on how to create effective and better campaigns that will yield improved results, leave you with more time for your business, and more money in your account.
If you've ever been in search of effective solutions and tried-and-tested marketing strategies, you've probably found various marketing experts on the Internet offering different advice. You'll hear from Facebook experts that being on Facebook is the only right way, Instagram gurus will claim that Instagram is the right platform for your business, and YouTube specialists will have plenty of reasons why a YouTube channel is essential in your business's marketing strategy. So, who is right among them? Well, honestly, they are all somewhat right, but also somewhat wrong because regardless of the social media channel you choose, there are proven strategies that lead to success, depending on your business goals.
Let's proceed step by step so you can determine the best marketing strategy for your success.
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When it comes to social media marketing, this is the first and most important step in creating a strategy. One of the most common pieces of advice you'll come across on the Internet, but also one of the biggest myths, is to use all possible channels and do everything you can on those channels.
This is perhaps the worst advice ever! Why?
Think about how much time, money, and energy it would take to cover all channels, be constantly present, and create different content for each channel.
At the very least, it's exhausting both financially and physically. On the other hand, your ideal customers, those interested in your services, are not on all channels. Your target customers you want to reach are present on two, maybe three channels that are specifically relevant to you.
So, instead of struggling and trying to cover all possible channels, it's important to focus on two, at most three social media channels where your potential clients are active and where you can present your offer to them.
In addition, you need to understand what your offer satisfies in your ideal customer. Do you satisfy a need for an immediate solution to a problem, or do you satisfy a desire?
Solutions for needs will be sought by your customers on search engines. They will enter keywords into a search engine like Google and YouTube to find an offer that suits them. Desires, on the other hand, are satisfied on so-called 'discovery' platforms like Facebook and Instagram. If you sell services that fall into the category of satisfying the desire for a relaxing vacation or active sailing, you can present such services on 'discovery' platforms like Facebook and Instagram. But you need to be aware that your customers may not necessarily be ready with their credit card in hand to purchase your service there.
You need to know your customers well, know where they spend their time, but also know how they behave and where they are willing to make a purchase.
And finally, another factor to consider when choosing the right platform is the content you create.
The content you will share with your ideal customers, content that is easy and simple for you to create, content that your ideal customers will gladly consume. So, if you have the ability to create video content, then Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram are good choices. If you have more text and enjoy writing informative or educational articles, then Facebook is the first choice, but also Pinterest, which should not be overlooked. Which brings us to the next tip.
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One of the biggest issues when it comes to social media marketing for small businesses is that they simply don't do enough, all because of one significant reason - fear.
For example, the fear of judgment, the fear that their content won't appeal to the audience and won't receive any reactions, or the fear of not knowing what to post, which leaves them paralyzed, and they don't post anything. The fear that they don't have good photos or video materials and so on.
Definitely not posting anything is not good for the growth of your business. Don't let fear harm your business because the content you publish will undoubtedly benefit your ideal customers.
Another important thing about quality is that it's subjective. What does that mean?
It means that something that is terrible to you may be fantastic to someone else and vice versa. So don't let fear decide for you.
Quality depends on different styles, message tone, preferences, and how different people react. The only thing you need to focus on is whether your content provides value to the consumer. And publish it. Be present and reach your target audience with your authentic content. When you are consistent and present, your clients will develop a trusting relationship with you, leading to successful business.
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This goes hand in hand with creating more content, but what's important here is not just focusing on the quantity of content but thinking strategically. You need to know if the content you want to show your audience is truly relevant. Does your service really deliver what you're talking about and conveying on social media?
Another crucial aspect here and why it's important to think strategically is consistency. Often, companies create specific content, post it on their important networks, and then for a long time, they don't post anything else, as if they've disappeared.
This happens simply because they didn't plan and didn't devise content that will be posted in the coming weeks or months. It's much better to think about what and when you will post, create your posting schedule, and stick to it.
If that means creating less content but strategically planned, it's much better for you. So, plan your posts in advance. If you need a posting plan and are interested in how to create it easily, take a look at our example here.
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Social media is an ideal way to engage and interact with your target audience, but it's also an excellent place to gain insights into your audience. You can almost get marketing research for free on how your audience reacts, what they truly need, which services they are willing to pay for, what exactly bothers them, and what goals they want to achieve.
People on social media simply relax and are ready to share their thoughts and desires. Maybe it's not as good for people as it is for businesses in general. Because it's up to you to get involved and simply follow what's happening and use it to grow your business.
And probably the most important advice you can get from us is precisely to listen and observe your audience to notice the exact "language" they speak. Which words they use and in what way, and then apply the same in your ads, posts, and content you put in front of your audience.
So, if you're active on social media and interacting with your audience, it's practically like sitting on a gold mine. Just take what the audience offers you.
There are multiple benefits to posting video content on social media, but one of the most important is that through video, you can build trust with your audience effectively and showcase your brand as it truly is.
Video is the closest thing to one-on-one personal contact. As much as it's desirable to be in direct contact with your audience, it's often not practically feasible, which is why video serves as the closest alternative.
Another excellent thing about video is that you can edit the recorded material and publish it in different durations through various channels.
For example, from a longer video that you publish on YouTube, you can create short clips and post them on Instagram. You can also transcribe such a video into text and then share it as a blog post on your Facebook profile. Of course, you can create various graphics with quotes or important segments from that same video. And that's the beauty of creating video content.
Yes, it may require a bit more effort initially to conceptualize and create such video content, but it pays off multiple times in the end because you'll have a wealth of content that you can use across different social media platforms.
In the end, regardless of which social network you choose for your business, it's essential to stick to these 5 universal tips, and your marketing will start yielding the desired results.
If you're thinking about where to start and are unsure of the first step in creating your successful social media strategy, contact us, and together we will create your effective strategy.