Social media marketing remains a powerful tool in the right hands. In the wrong hands, it’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. The problem is since it’s comparatively new, most people have no idea what to do with it at the start. While you can figure it out eventually, it’ll cost your business time it likely doesn’t have. To maximize its benefit to the company, you must know the social media marketing commandments from the start.
1. Exponential Reach
The greatest value of social media marketing is the increased reach it offers your business. What many may not realize is just how powerful something can be if it reaches multiple networks. Not only do more people see it, but each post represents an opportunity for Google to find and mark it as relevant. This puts the pressure squarely on the quality of your content. The better it is, the more chain reactions you’ll have going.
2. Acknowledge as Much as You Can
It’s a difficult concept for some to understand, but reaching out to someone online carries similar weight to doing it in person. Ignoring people can be construed as rude and can cost you followers and future engagement. While responding to every comment becomes impractical as your numbers grow, there’s no reason you can’t find a common opinion and reply to that in one big message with a new post.
3. Work with Influencers
No matter how big you are, there is a limit to your reach. Enter the influencer, or people who command authority or presence in your target market. The time you spend finding the right influencers is time invested in the future of your marketing campaign. Attracting them is a combination of having a position of authority yourself, and providing quality content. If they start sharing your content, you could find yourself attracting a brand new audience.
4. Quality Over Quantity
A million users who only skim your content and never share aren’t what you want. While the numbers look good, they’re not fulfilling the primary duty of social media marketing – reach. Low engagement often means low conversions. Not only are you not getting the sales you want, you’re losing money off bandwidth that amounts to nothing. Angle your content to engage and create meaningful connections.
5. Do Unto Others
Developing a strong social media presence isn’t just about posting great content at the right times. It involves giving back. Spend some of your time looking for interesting things relevant to your audience and sharing posts with them.
6. Add to the Conversation
Both millennials and Gen-Z are people of community. On social media there is a constant conversation, an exchange of ideas and experiences. Simply pitching your selling your product won’t work. People will stop listening. For your brand to be noticed, you must add something to the conversation. Communicate with them and add value.
7. Be Available
Content isn’t something your marketing team can just release and then ignore. When people are interested in something, they’re likely to respond. If you’re not there to engage them, you risk losing future interactions to others who are.
8. Have a Clear and Focused Strategy
On paper, going for a wide-angle approach in marketing seems like a good idea. The more people who you can attract, the better – at least on paper. The problem is modern consumers are less interested in generic message and want things that speak to them on a personal level. Focus your strategy and campaign on your target market.
9. Listen to Your Audience
Having a successful marketing campaign isn’t just about presenting your product well, it’s about knowing what your audience thinks and feels. Listen to what their saying. Read their posts and find out what they deem important. This will give your critical information that’ll help you form a more effective campaign.
10. Be Patient
Success cannot happen overnight in social media. There are simply too many voices competing for attention, and too many people to reach. Don’t get disheartened if growth is slow. It’ll take time to build momentum and get the response your company needs.
While how people approach social media will change as companies understand more about online behavior, some commandments will never change. Listening to your audience and meaningfully interacting with them will always carry value and improve your marketing effort. It won’t be easy, but if you want your company to succeed, it has to be done.
