Social Media Marketing is the most popular marketing strategy in recent times. Businesses are becoming more digital. Therefore, the marketing strategies should be planned according to them. The old form of marketing such as TV Ads, newspaper Ads, pamphlets, or flyers are not able to compete with this advancing digital world. Hence, Social Media Marketing has become a solution to it.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing or SMM is a process of creating and distributing content through different social media platforms. It is online marketing for brands to get connected with their customers. It also helps them to sell products and increase their reach.
Benefits of SMM
The benefits of social media marketing are:
- It is cost-effective
- It helps to create brand awareness
- It generates more traffic
- It increases sale
- It helps to find new customers
- It keeps a strong bond with the existing customers
Social Media Platforms
Social Media Apps are platforms used for marketing purposes. There is a wide range of platforms, each one having its qualities. These platforms are used to promote a business as well as increase sales.
1. Social Networking Sites
LinkedIn and Facebook are social networking sites used for personal and professional purposes.
We all know Facebook is a great site for personal interactions. A great number of people use this site to keep connected to their family and friends. It is also a platform for small businesses. Businesses can create a page to offer their products, services, and contact information to Facebook users.
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. People and businesses create their professional identities to get a job. Companies share their updates and even do hiring through LinkedIn. It is a great source of getting jobs online.
2. Image Sharing Sites
Instagram and Pinterest are image-sharing sites that give superb opportunities to businesses for attracting customers.
Photos and videos are one of the most important aspects of marketing. Instagram provides this opportunity to make reels, short videos, and carousals for advertising products and services. It is a great advertising platform for small or big businesses. It also includes a feature that allows adding a ‘link’ to a photo so that a customer directly visits the website for making a purchase.
It is a useful social media site that provides the opportunity to share and discover (also known as ‘pinning’) the interests of others. Unlike Instagram, it helps brands to directly link their websites or landing pages in comments and captions.
3. Videos
Video-sharing sites are gaining importance nowadays. People are more interested in watching videos. Videos are used for tutorials, product reviews, advertising brands, etc. YouTube and Vimeo are suitable for long videos. Long videos may include demonstrations, vlogs, educational videos, etc.
TikTok is among the most popular social media app that makes videos containing informational and entertaining content. The duration of videos is short but has a wide reach. Instagram and Facebook live sessions are more suitable for the question and answer videos.
Content Bucket For Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing depends totally upon the content a brand creates and shares. A marketing plan can be made successful by producing effective content. Content Bucket refers to different categories a brand or person uses for creating content. All categories are important for the overall success of a business. Hence, a brand can use these categories to create its content on social media. The five categories of the content bucket are:
1. Entertaining Content
Social media is a platform used for entertainment. Entertaining content includes viral videos, memes, funny posts, giveaways, and contests. People are interested in such content for the sake of enjoyment.
2. Educational Content
Customers learn about a brand through educational content. A brand can build trust by spreading information through creating educational content. Such content includes infographics, FAQs, case studies, tips, or video training. Guideposts and blogs are also used for educational purposes. It gives the idea to customers that the brand is interacting with them. Moreover, it is answering their questions.
3. Inspirational Content
This type of content is created by using a brand’s loyal customers. A product or service review helps to prove the authenticity of a brand. People are interested in listening to or reading reviews from customers before making a purchase. Testimonials, case studies, facts, trivia, and personal stories are some forms of inspirational content. Such content helps to reinforce a brand’s vision.
Also, Influencer marketing is used to increase the followers of a brand. It also helps in driving engagements and sales. An influencer is a person who shares his experience with followers. Influencers with more fan following can collaborate with a brand to increase its marketing. The recommendations they give persuade the followers to buy a product or service.
4. Conversational Content
Conversational content helps a brand communicate with its customers. It can be in the form of online sessions through Instagram or Facebook live. A poll can be created to get answers from customers. It is more like interacting with your audience. Ask them for suggestions and reviews for upgrading products, and launching new products or content.
5. Promotional Content
Promotional content is content that aims to promote a business. It is a marketing strategy to increase sales. Social media is a great place for making promotions. The promotions are presented in the form of image or video advertisements. The brands can offer discounts on new sign-ups and subscriptions. They also give buy one get one free offers and discounts on online payments. Another way to make a promotion is to ask customers to check in on Facebook page. In return, they can get discounts or freebies. Thus, these are a few marketing strategies for promoting products through social media.
Mobile Social Media Marketing
Most people access their social media accounts through mobile. Mobile marketing is a strategy to reach the target audience on their mobiles. Therefore, it is necessary to create content that can be accessed on mobile easily.
Tips for Mobile Marketing
- When creating content check the images and layouts on mobile.
- Try to write short content because people do not like to read long posts on mobile.
- People have short attention spans on mobile. Add more videos to your content.
- Make sure to include links that can be easily accessed on mobile.
Tips for Designing Social Media Content
Design is an essential element for making content attractive. Here are a few tips for designing content:
- Use simple graphics for highlighting your message.
- A brand may have its color scheme but using contrasting colors can help drive the attention of customers. Use Canva’s color wheel for a color recommendation.
- A variety of styles can be used to prevent customers from getting bored. Explore different colors, fonts, and styles for designing content.
- A call to action should be included for increasing a post’s reach.
- Reuse graphics and images for different social media platforms. Make sure to optimize the images before posting.
Hence, social media plays a vital role in a business’s marketing. It is important to create useful content for making marketing strategies successful.