Best Practices to Use Social Media in Online Marketing for Your Brand
Many small businesses struggle to achieve marketing success on social media. Being on social involves much more than signing up for an account. You need an intentional strategy that follows best practices.
How to Use Social Media in Online Marketing
Have a Social Media Marketing Plan
Define your goals and the platforms that are best suited to help you achieve them. Further, define exactly what you need to do on each channel you select.
Pick the Best Social Media Channels
You do not need to be everywhere on social media. I repeat, don’t sign up for every channel you hear about. Use only the channels that your target customer uses. How do you know? Pew has some great national data on social media use. You can also start by asking customers and others who represent your target audience what they use.
Focus on Building the Right Social Communities
Don’t focus on amassing the most followers; focus on connecting with the right followers. You want to use social media to connect with your target audience. Know who your target is and focus on making those connections. Quality beats quantity every time.
Pay Attention to the Competition
Watching what your competitors do on social media isn’t unethical. It’s smart. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. Create value by giving your social communities the best value by using best practices you glean, as well as ideas unique to your brand.
Listen as Much (or More) than You “Talk”
Social media should be, well, social! That means a two-way interaction. Your posts are the equivalent of your part of the conversation. Engagement from your community in the form of comments, posts, and reactions is their part. Make sure you invite a balance! No one likes people (or brands) who only talk about themselves and don’t let others share.
Measure Social Media Marketing Often
Take time to measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts. Your great ideas may be getting you to your goal, or they may be falling flat. You won’t know unless you take time to assess. Pay attention to short-term data, like the interactions on your most recent post, as well as longer-term trends. Don’t be afraid to change your plan to make the most of what’s working! 5 Easy Ways to Build A Social Media Audience from my prior post offers more ideas to enhance social media marketing.
