When marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but the stories you tell then designing for social media in present times is really advisable for businesses. May it be a child or adult, everybody is on social media these days. And this what makes it a very strong weapon in the marketing arsenal. This weapon has the potential to attract a lot of prospective customers. It is undoubtedly the enduring reality of online existence. At best it can lead to super social brand image and at worst it can be just a waste of time. So in order to reap the best benefits from social media platform, one has to have a clear strategy after considering the competition, the goals, and the present situations.
Deciding an end is the starting of any journey. While designing social media marketing strategy also, it is important to understand where you want to go. What is the end goal? Do you just want to create awareness of your brand or want to increase your website traffic? Are you looking for an increase in sales by building customer loyalty or do you want a combination of all these? Well, it is better to focus on one or two as the goals as they aren’t so mutually exclusive and if you spread too thin then you are not going to achieve anything.
After knowing your goal, it is important to know the type of your customer. The best way to do this is to create buyer personas. Sit down and create a detailed profile of your ideal customer. Write down all factors which are somehow crucial to your business. For example, their age, income, likes, dislikes, their number of children, kind of lifestyle, the source of motivation and much more. If there are different categories of customers, then create this persona for each as these answers will help in formulating a perfect plan.
Keeping an eye on the competition is like protecting yourself from many pitfalls. Since your competitors are targeting the same customers you can learn a lot from their successes and mistakes. Pick three or four top competitors of yours, find the social networks they are active on, and study their content discreetly. For example, if you selling cars, then do your competitors talk about how it functions, or post amazing videos of it? See, which way engages the customer more. Now, this will help to determine which strategy is best and which won’t work.
After studying all the possible competition and ideal customers, it is time to start building your messages. This isn’t detailed content. Just a set of key messages which you think will attract your customers. Create your original messages in the tone that customers like to read or see, this will help you to have a unique brand image. Go as creative as possible because a social media presence should be very exciting rather than boring.
Social media platforms are all different and one must choose them wisely according to the type of products or services you selling. For example, LinkedIn is a good platform to advertise your professional services, and Pinterest would be better if you sell fashion garments. Youtube is in the second position when it comes to search engines, so, post your videos here.
A right channel is important but engaging content is although more important. The content needs to align with your end goal and should be appropriate for the channel you choose. A mix of infographics, videos, messages and other such styles is always effective in engaging customers. Also, fresh content on regular basis is essential for ongoing presence on social media. So, what’s the wait for? Hire a nice writer and get started with your social media marketing.
