Plan Your Social Media Campaign in Advance
Before you can do anything, you need to have an actionable plan. Planning is the critical first step of any social media campaign, and there are many facets to take into consideration. A well-researched strategy that is devised with the following points in mind is the foundation for your campaign’s success.
Devise Clear Goals
More than anything, you need to understand the goals of your campaign. They guide everything that comes next. Do you want to improve brand awareness, reinforce a positive message, or simply drive potential customers to your website through ads and blog posts? Perhaps you wish to break into a new market, enamor a new audience to your brand, or launch a new product and generate hype for it. Know the goals of your campaign and adapt your approach to suit.
Target a Specific Demographic
It’s certainly possible to devise broad and general strategies that appeal to the masses, but you will see far greater success if you target your efforts on a specific demographic. Each requires its own unique tone and flavor, with social media outlets suited differently to each demographic. For instance, LinkedIn and YouTube are effective with baby boomers, while TikTok and Instagram are the go-to platforms for Generation Z.
Tailor Your Message to Each Medium
It’s important to understand the platforms you use as well as you understand your audience. The unwritten norms and quirks governing each platform differ. For instance, Facebook is a far better medium for opinion sharing than YouTube. Instagram is great for reinforcing a core brand message, while Twitter allows for quick responses and engagement with your audience via retweets and responses.
Tell a Good Story
We all love stories. Stories are memorable; they drive engagement and make it easy for people to relate to the content they’re consuming. A story tailored to your brand is one that is readily engaging, easy to digest, and easy to remember. The right story will stick in the mind of your audience long after they have moved on.
Make Great Content
First and foremost, the story you’re telling needs to be a good one. The market is crowded, social feeds flooded with an ocean of content that is begging to be seen – and the more we’re inundated with it, the shorter our attention spans become. Know what gets your audience animated, and know their problems, and tell a story that speaks to both.
Focus on Video Content
Video content is the bread and butter of effective social media. They’re simply the most popular type of content overall. That’s why every platform has integrated video capabilities. Videos are easy to consume and require little effort on the part of the viewer while engaging multiple senses to better reinforce a message.
How-to videos and tutorials are always a win. Yet, you needn’t focus solely on those. There are many great examples of engaging video content depicting live experience marketing, such as Skyfall’s “Unlock the 007 in you” advert that paired with Coca-Cola to advertise the upcoming movie. Allowing the viewer to live vicariously through a video is another example of the power of such content.
Be Authentic and Human
If your social media feed is full of product ads, discount codes, and sales, then you need to rethink your posting strategy. A feed that looks like that is unengaging and essentially just a giant wall of adverts that no consumer will be interested in looking through. Instead, you must create and nurture a core message that is engaging, yet authentic and personal.
Highlight what it is that makes you unique, post useful information and resources, share inspirational messages and create videos and blog posts that address some of your customer’s pain points. That’s what will keep them coming back for more.
Keep It Simple and Memorable
We mentioned earlier that attention spans are declining and videos are often king. Obviously, you shouldn’t focus entirely on fun video content, but blog posts and images should remain simple and easy to consume. You don’t want to tax your audience or make them work for it. Simple messages are consumable, and above all, they’re memorable. Don’t overcomplicate things.
Promote Engagement
One of the fantastic benefits of social media for businesses is that it allows you to engage with your customer base directly. With the amount of social interaction that takes place online increasing all the time, many of those you engage with see social media as an acceptable surrogate for in-person interaction. It’s as though you’re speaking to them face-to-face.
By engaging and being responsive to any and all interaction, you not only leave your customers feeling connected to your brand, but you encourage them to return and share content of their own volition. The biggest benefit? Shared content is free, secondary advertising.
Engage With Your Audience
Don’t be afraid to engage with your audience directly. Ask them questions and answer theirs. Use the opportunity to gather customer feedback. You can even get them to speak to each other through your posts. Engagement will drive repeat views, and in the end, returning viewers are what this is all about.
Measure Your Outcomes
Finally, you need to measure your outcomes. If you don’t, you will have a hard time judging your return on investment. This is where your well-planned strategy pays off. With clearly defined goals and targeted demographics, you will be able to tell just how effective your campaigns are. And if it isn’t playing out as intended, don’t worry – with everything you know, making adjustments should be smooth and simple.
Social media marketing can be intimidating to newcomers, but it needn’t be. It’s not only a powerful tool but vital for small and big businesses alike to succeed in the modern electronic business world. Taking a measured and thoughtful approach to your campaigns will yield great results – and even better, you’ll only improve over time.
Contact GooRooz today for information about our online business services.
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