Social media marketing is basically the use of various social media sites and platforms to promote an online product or service. While the terms internet marketing and e-marketing are now permanently entrenched in academic ivory towers, social media marketing is fast becoming popular not just for academics but also for professionals in various other fields. What makes this phenomenon even more interesting is that it’s a much-needed extension of conventional marketing strategies. Social media has the potential to offer marketers relevant and fresh ways to reach their audience. It helps companies improve brand credibility and generates higher levels of loyalty from existing customers.
However, many companies fail to acknowledge the power behind social media marketing. For example, one of the most common mistakes made by novice marketeers is prioritizing visual content above all else. Research shows that people visit websites more than once before deciding whether they like what they see. The visuals on these websites provide users with more information about the brand than textual content, which significantly impacts customer loyalty and brand recall.
Overlooking Influencers Is A Big Mistake
Experts in social media marketing have long known that businesses must take care not to leave out potential customers because they will be the ones spreading the word. Therefore, it’s important for brands to engage with influencers. Train employees to identify influencers and then engage with them.
One way to do so is to hire an influencer to perform social media marketing tasks for the business. An influencer is someone whose job it is to tap into the digital ecosystem of followers on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Experts recommend using a social media marketing company when it comes to hiring influencers. Hiring an influencer is not as easy as it sounds. A good SMM company will conduct background checks and run demographics surveys, among others, to ensure that it hires only the most talented individuals for the job.
Ensuring A Chosen Influencer Is The Right Fit
In addition to making sure that an influencer has the right skills and connections, the company will also need to ensure that the influencer has the same interests as its target audience. After all, if the social media marketing strategy for the brand is implementing is aimed at younger audiences on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the company will likely have to tone down its advertising campaigns that are too aggressive. Train employees on the correct ways to interact with followers so that they can better engage with their target audience.
Precision In Targeting
Another common mistake companies make when it comes to social media marketing campaigns is not targeting customers with enough precision. For example, email marketing for wineries should specifically target people who have an interest in wine and avoid tee-totalers. When a brand does not specifically target its audience, it’s more likely to miss out on engaging potential customers. For instance, if a company is running a PPC campaign on a particular drugstore, it’s likely to miss out on a group of potential customers who might be interested in buying that product. Instead, the influencer should be made aware of the store’s product line, the latest products and services, and even general information about the store in order to ensure that the brand is reaching the right customer base.
The Importance Of Getting The Right Marketing Message
Another issue that many companies struggle with when it comes to social media marketing efforts is staying within the appropriate message format. Many brands use social networks to share news stories and other interesting content but reaching new consumers by sharing this kind of content is much easier with established social networks, where people already frequent the site and are more likely to engage with what the brand has to say. With smaller social networks, this is more difficult to do. The key to ensuring a successful campaign is being aware of the audience that the brand wants to reach. If the brand is reaching out to teenage girls in rural America, it’s likely that the content will be too cutesy or offensive to reach an entire new audience of mature women who frequent the site.
Summary
The best strategy for digital marketing and social media marketing campaigns is to ensure that they are reaching their target audience, and then use a variety of different platforms to ensure that they are not only engaging with potential customers, but also generating interest in the brand overall. Many brands have used both Facebook and Twitter to boost interest in their products and businesses, but there are many other digital media platforms that are just as successful when it comes to the topic of digital marketing. These platforms include YouTube, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Yelp, and MySpace. By using all of these various social media platforms to help grow the brand, any company can see increased sales and success.
