Social media is a term for internet enabled platforms where social actions or activities are carried. Such activities may include creating, sharing or exchanging information related to interests, careers, ideas etc. For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities. Pinterest and Instagram are biased towards photo updates while newer sites like periscope and snapchat tend to work more for people who love short video messaging.
Leveraging the power of content and social media marketing can help elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. But getting started without any previous experience or insight could be challenging.
In order to succeed with social media marketing, it is important that you understand the fundamentals. This will help you build a lasting foundation for your brand to thrive.
Here are some important things you need to know when marketing on social media
LEARN TO LISTEN
Success with social media and content marketing requires more listening and less talking. Read your target audience’s online contents and join discussions to learn what’s important to them. Only then can you create content and spark conversations that add value rather than clutter to their lives.
Social media is about community building. Learn to create value for that community, that is how they will in turn pay attention to you. But first , you have to listen and understand what they really love talking about
ITS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT NUMBERS
It’s good to have thousands of followers on your social media networks but partaking in aggressive and spammy practices will surely hurt your brand. Growing REAL followers organically is a gradual process and one that is more consistent when you have a systematic approach to your contents.
Having a lot of followers does not necessarily set your brand apart as a thought leader or define it as the best in that industry. Having a clear brand definition and goals will get your brand farther as opposed to accumulating followers all over using questionable tactics.
PATIENCE ! PATIENCE ! PATIENCE !
It is very important to be patient especially when you are marketing on social media. Often times, it is difficult to get the right audience with the right message at the right time but planning contents around the needs of your target audience will surely help you grow in time.
NEVER UNDESTIMATE THE POWER OF INFLUENCERS
Spend time finding the online influencers in your market who have quality audiences and are likely to be interested in your products, services and business. Connect with those people and work to build relationships with them.
If you get on their radar as an authoritative, interesting source of useful information, they might share your content with their own followers, which could put you and your business in front of a huge new audience.
NEVER FIGHT WITH A CUSTOMER
It’s always a great idea to transfer “old school” marketing principles to “new school” marketing. One of those principles is this: the customer is always right.
If one of your customers takes to social media to complain about the quality of your product or service, avoid getting into an argument. That’s because you can’t win.
Instead of arguing, take steps to make the customer happy. That’s Customer Service 101. Or, simply direct the conversation off of social media so that there is less visibility.
KNOW YOUR ANALYTICS
How many people did you reach on Facebook this week? How many tweet impressions did you generate this month?
If you can’t answer those questions, it’s because you’re not studying your analytics.
It’s important to review your analytics regularly because you’ll see what types of posts and tweets generate the most engagements. That way, you can focus on what’s successful in future social media campaigns.
BE READY TO EVOLVE AS SOCIAL MEDIA EVOLVES
Do you think you know all that there is to know about social media? Think again.
Even if you’ve “arrived” at the current state of social media right now, you can be sure that it will evolve with technology over the next year. Social media strategies that work today might not work in 2017.
That’s why it’s a good idea to always be learning about social media marketing best-practices on a regular basis. That way you can be better informed.
Do you need Social Media Marketing for your business? or want to get certified as a Search Media Marketer?,
Contact us or Register for our Digital Marketing courses to acquire the requisite skills.
Kindly call us on +2348069766133 to join the next training session…
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