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In the days of traditional marketing, you’d have to spend a lot of money on TV advertising and billboards to attract customers. Today, it’s a different story because everything changed with the rise of social media. If you're new to the game, we're going to give you a rundown of how to use social media with six simple steps.
You've probably realized by now that the majority of your target customers are active social media users. They use social media to inform themselves as well as to make purchases. You want to reach out to them wherever they are.
By building brand awareness through social media, you create interest. In turn, that boosts your sales and bottom line. It’s the main reason why the networks have become the primary driver of online purchasing activities.
Social Media Marketing
What is social media marketing? We can define it as the process of managing prospects and customers with your digital presence through social media platforms.
It’s the process of promoting your brand by using prominent sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Once you start generating more traffic from social media, you can then redirect the leads into your sales funnel, and start building relationships with them.
According to SmartInsights, about 79% of internet users are present on social media (3,196 billion of the total of 4,021 billion internet users). That’s almost half of the planet’s population.
So, let’s see how you should get started with these essential channels.
Get to Know Your Audience
Your ideal customers are those that make your target (preferred) audience. So, identifying your model customer would be the first logical step to getting started.
These people are already there and are most likely following the top influencers, leaders, and experts in your industry. Tap into that pool of potential prospects and redirect them to become focused on your brand and what it has to offer.
For example, if you sell sports gear, you need to figure out where that audience is currently active online. Make a list of sports gear sales leaders, such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. Then analyze and target their audiences.
Choose the Right Social Media Platforms and Create Accounts
Trying to be active on all major social media networks is a pitfall you should avoid, at least at the beginning. Getting started on social media requires you to find out where the majority of your target audience is active the most. That’s your place to start.
These platforms may include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Reddit. All these platforms are high-authority networks that can help your rank high in search engines. The more relevant content you post there (and receive likes, comments, and shares), the more visible you’ll be to your potential customers.
Engage Your Ideal Customers
After identifying your ideal customers and creating accounts, the next step is engaging them. Start by following your competitors’ audiences on social media. Identify the power followers (those with more than 2,000 of their followers).
You can apply this strategy across LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These people are in the same industry as the social accounts they currently follow. That’s why it’s more likely that they’ll want to follow you as well. It’s important to know that these power followers look closely at their audiences as they build their network.
Spend a month adding about 200 people on each social channel. Do that until you follow a few thousand people. Then, you should take a look at who’s not following you in return. These people are not interested in your brand and its offerings.
Share Niche-Related Content
If you want to generate more traffic to your site, you should aim to share existing viral content. Use a social media management tool to find popular content to curate. Type in the hashtag or keyword you want to follow. That way, you’ll discover great material that will catch the eye of your ideal customer. Look for viral videos on YouTube or stories with eye-catching headlines. Post it to your blog (along with a description and an image), and then post it across all your social media profiles. You can write an article on the same topic (but from your perspective), come up with a better headline, and apply the same sharing strategy. Of course, don’t fret to post your original content, as well.
Create a Plan for Daily Social Sharing
For an effective social media marketing strategy, you need to develop a plan. Having a strategy and knowing where to go is essential before getting started on social media.
Social sharing is demanding and time-consuming, and you shouldn’t share whenever you like. You need to find out at what time of the day your audience is most active on social media. Determine how many Facebook shares or tweets you want to make each day and at what time.
Schedule your posts with your social media management tool. What you’ll have to do manually is to interact with likes and comments.
Paid Social Media Advertising
And last but not least, another way to throw some fuel on the fire is through paid advertising on social media. Free marketing strategies are great, but it can take time before you get significant results.
Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have amazing targeting systems that make it a lot easier to distribute your content to the right people. Don’t ignore it or be afraid of using paid social media ads, as they’re great for boosting brand visibility.
