As marketers, we get asked all the time by business owners, “What strategies should we be using to maximize our online visibility?” While there are a plethora of mediums to increase your visibility online, none are as widely used as social media. Social media, when implemented correctly, can have a huge impact on driving your business forward. In this article, we would like to offer three tips on how to optimize your social media campaigns.
- Define your Goals
Social media has numerous different outlets—all of which have their own strengths. First, you need to determine what you would like the users’ experience to be. Do you want to use social media to sell your product and to be a knowledge leader in the industry, or do you want to show your customers the personality behind the business with fun posts about staff and your company culture? Your answer to this question will help narrow down which social media platforms you should use. For example, if you would like to connect with your customers on more of a personal level, then Facebook and Instagram would be a good fit for your company. These platforms can also be used for sales, but we recommend not overloading your followers with these messages as they will tune them out over time.
- Communicate to your Audience
One of the biggest mistakes companies make when using social media is not talking to their specific audience. The question you should ask yourself is: “Who is my end customer?” Are you a company who is in the B2B marketplace, or are you a B2C company? These two business models have very different strategies when it comes to social media.
LinkedIn can be a great addition to B2B businesses’ online tactics. LinkedIn is the “business-friendly” social media. Users log in to view business-related articles and connect professionally with colleagues. These users are more apt to click on an interesting article you post since they are in the “business mindset” at that moment.
Businesses can use most social media networks free of charge to communicate with audiences. With that in mind, if you would like to take your social media game to the next level, we would recommend paid advertising on the platforms which best suit your needs. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, to name a few, allow businesses to spend advertising dollars to maximize the reach of posts.
Example: On Facebook, a business has 500 followers. If they post about an upcoming sale, the post will likely reach approximately 50-75 of their total followers. When a paid advertising campaign is tied to that post, they could reach upwards of 10,000 people depending on the ad spend.
The same holds true with LinkedIn on the professional side. Let’s say a B2B company posts an update about a new process they offer other companies. That post will only reach some of the page’s followers; however, if ad dollars are spent, the number of views could be limitless. LinkedIn also offers some very nice targeting options, such as job title, job function, industry, company name and more. These targeting options allow you to talk directly to the people who will be the most interested in your post.
- Consistency
Once you determine which social media platforms to incorporate into your online marketing strategy, you can begin making your posts. Talk to your customers in ways that will encourage engagement with your posts. Ask questions, and provide valuable information to become a leader in your industry.
And with any type of marketing campaign, consistency is key! All too often, we see businesses start social media campaigns only to let them fall by the wayside. To successfully manage a social media campaign, you will need to be consistent. Once followers start engaging with your page, they’ll return looking for advice, weekly humor or your expertise. When these campaigns fall to the back burner, the social media accounts tend to look poorly managed. And when followers stop getting their information from your company, they will likely seek it out from your competition. We recommend businesses develop a posting schedule and stick with it.
Now that you have a couple of tips in starting your social media campaigns, get out there and start engaging with your customers. If you’d like additional help getting a social media marketing campaign started, contact Baer Performance Marketing today!
