Social media marketing is an indelible part of the PR and promotional campaign of a company or business. Using social media platforms for the promotion of products and services is one of the most effective methods for marketing and advertisement. Within the current age of marketing, social media marketing is allowing businesses to increase their reach and specifically target their ideal clients. Not to say traditional marketing such as television, radio and print does not have a place and proven advantages within the marketing mix (not everyone has access to digital platforms!) however social media is proving to provide more and more advantages when considering marketing budgets and targeted campaigns.
Therefore, it is important that every business formulates their own social media marketing program that fits the profile of their company and its products or services. Once the program has been designed, it is important for the company to have a plan on how to employ the social media platform for the most effective promotion of their company. There can be many hits and misses when considering what works in a social media marketing program or campaigns. At the same time, the methods that may work for one product, service or industry may not be ideal for another.
Here are some Dos and Don’ts to remember when framing and maintaining a social media marketing strategy and plan;
Dos
1. Have an active and well-updated complete profile for your business: a comprehensive profile that is also active is one that garners maximum engagement. It also provides all the information for followers who are interested in engaging with your company, as your profile is seen as reliable. Partially completed profiles with insufficient information, are seen as non-credible and will easily be blocked. Take time to fill out your profile with all relevant information, and also furnish the logo, banner, slogans and other aspects that will make your page stand out and increase your credibility as a brand.
2. Understand your Audience: just as it is important for you to provide all the relevant information about your company, it is also equally important for you to understand your target audience. Some questions you must try to answer are ‘what age group does your target audience belong to?, ‘what do they do for a living?’, ‘when do they spend time online?’, and ‘why they would be interested in your product or service?’ This helps you structure your social media marketing strategies to fit the needs of your real target audience and help you engage with them in a more beneficial way. Lead generation is one of the most effective ways of doing this. For your business to grow, you need to have a tailor-made plan of social media lead generation for Perth. Knowing your audience makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of your social media strategy.
3. Post regularly and frequently: a social media page that is not frequently updated soon loses followers. Content is king in this age, and unless you are lending your voice to the discussion, your social media page will soon become stagnant. Posting consistently and information that is relevant for your followers is the key to keeping your followers engaged. Post enough content so that you stay on the top of the mind of your consumers, but not so much that their feeds are flooded with updates from you that soon become annoying. If your primary platform of social media marketing is Facebook, then the ideal frequency for your Facebook marketing program, according to research, is one or two times per day during the week and once per day on weekends.
Don’ts
1. Do not try to use every social platform: there is a huge number of social media platforms out there with new ones being created every day. A common mistake businesses make is trying to engage with customers on all the mediums. The content that appears on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram Google+, Vine, Tumbler etc. are all different in type. Creating content that works for all these sites is not easy, and sometimes it may seem overly contrived. There is also simply not enough time for most businesses to engage on so many social media sites. Instead, when you frame your strategy with your social media marketing consultant, pick out a few sites that would be suitable for promoting your unique content, and stick with those sites.
2. Try not to only promote yourself or your business all the time: while promotion of the business is the first priority of your social media marketing strategy, it should not be the only way in which you try to engage with customers. Companies that try to maintain a page that is informative and socially responsible are the ones that are mostly well-received by the followers. Make sure you have something interesting to say and share on matters other than your products and services. At the same time, avoid controversial topics that usually divide people, and contribute more towards the conversation on environmentally friendly living etc. Your social media page should keep imparting knowledge, updates on industry trends and other information that you know will interest your followers.
3. Do not ignore questions and comments: the conversation on your social media page should not be a one-way street. Engagement on social media should be just that – a means to connect with and engage your customers in a conversation. You must be willing to respond to the queries raised by customers, and especially accept feedback and suggestions from customers, in order to ensure that they feel heard. Sometimes, some of the best ideas come out of suggestions from customers.