Has there ever been a time when you were considering buying a new product or service, but weren’t sure which direction to go? Oftentimes, you might turn to friends for recommendations, or online reviews to get a personal insight. According to a Harris Poll, 67% of Americans say they’re more likely to purchase a product after a friend or family member shared it via social media. And with 4.5 billion people using social media worldwide, it’s likely that your clients are already interacting through the platform, making it increasingly vital for a company’s success.
The Impact of Social Media Marketing
Here are some important statistics courtesy of HubSpot to keep in mind about social media:
- The average person spends 2 and a half hours on social media networks a day (Global Web Index)
- In 2021, 79% of marketers reported buying paid ads on Facebook (HubSpot)
- Video ads perform better than other ad formats on Facebook (DataBox)
- 83% of marketers believe post quality is more important than quantity (HubSpot)
- LinkedIn is the top paid and organic search social channel for B2B businesses (Content Marketing Institute)
- 46% of social media traffic to company websites comes from LinkedIn (LinkedIn)
- YouTube is the second-largest search engine behind Google (Alexa)
- YouTube accounts for more than 25% of total worldwide mobile traffic
Marketing Strategy Planning
Before any marketing strategies are launched, it’s a good idea to start with making a plan. There should be a strategy that’s outlined so your team can follow it. This allows for everyone to be informed enough that they’re able to guide conversations and interactions with your followers in the same manner. Social media presents a big opportunity for you to influence your audience on a new platform outside of direct customer service.
Content
Another approach to consider is producing interesting and new content. According to a HubSpot blog poll, 85% of marketers rank short-form videos as the best and most engaging type of content. Customers may not go out of their way to find new updates on your company, but if they are following your social media accounts, they’re more likely to engage with your posts when displayed through videos, captivating headlines, and perceptive discussions. Also consider how keyword usage and hashtags will promote your brand and help make you more noticeable. According to Twitter, tweets with hashtags get 100% more engagement than posts that don’t utilize them.
Sticking to your brand is important, as it keeps your content distinguishable from others in consumer’s news feed. Does your company have a set guide of colors, tone of voice, and visual style? Make sure to use these across your platforms.
If you choose to have multiple social media platforms, try offering diverse content on each one. This keeps each platform’s value high, encouraging people to follow all of them for the unique experiences they offer. For example, keeping Facebook for customer success stories, Twitter for linking blog posts, and Instagram for promoting events.
Engagement
Social media is also a great way to engage with your customers. By actively replying to comments or initiating discussions, it will keep users interested. In turn, engaging with them will keep you informed about what your customer’s needs are.
By creating a pathway for conversations to happen, negative criticism can occur. It’s never a smart idea to let them sit and allow concerns to go unanswered. Instead, develop a standard response in a thoughtful and swift manner. This shows responsibility during tense situations, which comes hand-in-hand with developing an online presence.
Once your social media is established, you can begin assessing your results. Conversions through your site will allow you to generate leads and monitor engagements with different sources of content, so you can uncover which type of content your audience engages with most.
Brands in the modern world of technology undoubtedly need an online presence, and social media plays a big part in that. They are judged on more than the responsive service and products offered. Each facet of the brand should connect to each other and invite interaction.
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