Social media advertising is an ever-evolving medium. One day your fans could be into the next big social media site only to find that a few months down the line, their preferred platform has shut shop (RIP Vine, as an example).
So for those looking to make the most of their e-commerce store, website or brand, finding the most cost-effective solutions for social media publicity is no easy task.
Read on to find out 10 things you need to know about ‘keeping your fingers on the pulse’ when it comes to social media advertising.
1. You, Will, Need to Generate Some Online Buzz Around your Brand
Internet users are swamped with advertising everywhere they turn. In order to succeed in social media, a business needs to make a real impact to be remembered. Creating ‘buzz’ around your brand in 2017 is going to require deep consideration, as uniqueness is key to standing out from the crowd.
Try including things like user-generated content, viral video, and stunning images. Your social media presence needs to be at the forefront of your marketing considerations, as it is the most accessible point of interaction with your customers.
2.You Will Need to Define Your Social Media Goals
Whether you are looking to find new fans or promote your discount sale, every business’s goals, with every social media post, will be different. Defining your aims in the planning stages will help you stay on track with the targeting, time and resources poured into every one of your campaigns.
3.Audience Research is Essential
Analyzing your audience’s social media behaviors will aid you in crafting messages to target your preferred demographics. In order to do this effectively, you will need to split your social media audiences into segments. Find out which types of media they most consume and respond to, and then create and test these strategies with your own marketing efforts.
4.You Will Need to A/B Test
Many marketers skip A/B testing for social media because it is such a fast-paced medium, and testing could slow the process down. However, once you have researched your customers and created a set of social media ads, it’s wise to then test their effectiveness.
Social media advertising can be highly effective to see whether your calls to action are compelling enough to inspire a click. And testing can always be done as part of the creation process, rather than after. Make sure you run alternative headlines and ideas within your posts and analyze their effectiveness in your monthly reports.
5.You Will Need to ‘Join the Dots’
Customers on desktops have many internet tabs open at a time, and mobile users are constantly switching between apps. Social media marketers need to ensure that all channels are connected as standard. Tasks like adding your Facebook widget to your Wordpress theme, are essential - no exceptions - if you want to maximize not only sales but trust in your brand.
6.Video is a Growth Area for Social Media Advertising
With YouTube taking up much of internet user’s time and attention nowadays, brands that ignore video in their social media output do so at their own risk. A recent survey by Wyzowl found that 91% of consumers have watched a video about a product before making a purchase. And besides simple informative advertisements, brands can be a lot more creative with their social video campaigns and become worldwide names overnight. Take, for example, the infamous Ice Bucket Challenge from ALS Association. This fantastically successful social media campaign raised over $115 million for Lou Gehrig’s disease with a simple concept that anyone with a smartphone could recreate.
7.Social Media Automation Streamlines the Working Processes
Any brand worth its salt will want to do anything it can to encourage brand loyalty through social media. Social media automation software can capture big data and help you best use it to keep your customers coming back to you.
For example, within social media, you can use automation to collect data that tells you your audience’s preferred posting times in the day/week. It can also help you schedule all of your posts across all networks in advance. By handling these duties automatically, your brand can spend more time and effort interacting with followers and influencers in tech wider internet community.
8.Social Media is About Being Social Too
Marketing is not a one-way street. With any social media, the brands that do the best take the time to show genuine interest in the wider community.
Humans have a pack instinct, and this is, of course, the main driver of behaviors on social media too. Make sure that you engage in conversations with fans and make an effort to follow and interact with influencers in your industry. However, make sure you’re also learning about being humble, as shameless plugging is a huge turn-off for fans.
9.Analyzing Audience Segments is More Important than Ever
Social media sites have revolutionized the way we use the internet forever. Nowadays, as well as being a tool for information gathering and communication, social media increasingly allows people to use it as a means of self-expression. Sites like Facebook have years’ worth of information on their users’ likes and interests. Information that is highly valuable to marketers.
Segmenting your ad spend to appeal to the varied interests of your customers is the key to maximizing your social advertising success. There are many tutorials on setting up Facebook advertising and analyzing audiences — so get reading! Facebook Audiences are easy to adjust and reset to ensure that your marketing budget is targeting the right customers with the most engaging marketing messages.
10.Don’t Forget About Email Marketing
With 2.789 billion social media users worldwide, focussing your attention on social media is a great approach. But, you will also need to ensure you have an alternative means of getting in touch with your fans. You never know how popular these sites may be in a few years, plus there may be technical difficulties like changes in terms & conditions, which could make it difficult for you to collect and retain customer data. Make sure that a link to your mailing list is included on all social media sites and regularly post updates encouraging your fans to subscribe.
Social media is becoming increasingly relied upon a medium for brands looking to have an impact online. Competition for capturing social media users’ attention is fierce. But, with proper planning, execution, automation, and testing, you can budget your time and money effectively to get noticed by the right types of audiences.
Don't forget to check WordPress themes for Instagram influencers
