Most small businesses are still adjusting to what role social media is meant to play in their business. Their idea marketing is often founded in more traditional and expensive form of brick and mortar advertising. But the limitations that traditional marketing tools, in terms of cost and circulation are hobbled with are exactly the reasons why social media has become so effective and widely utilized.
Small businesses can benefit from advertising through social media primarily because it’s essentially free. Another benefit is the amount of up keep required to implement the campaign. For example, using a twitter marketing campaign a business will have spent nothing on the campaign and only a few minutes a day tweeting messages.
This is why developing a social media marketing campaign requires developing a plan of action to ensure you are spending a bit of effort and time investment but with a substantial amount of return. Sites like HubSpot have looked into how to go about creating a clear social campaign with some interesting results. Here are some steps you or any other small business can take to institute a social media marketing campaign:
* Find your audience: With social media, like any other form of advertising, you need to know who you are speaking to. Know your market and figure out how to reach them. If your target market falls outside of the 18 to 35 group then you may want to look elsewhere. Connect with other companies in your area, that way people will have an easier time finding you.
* Develop a strategy that appeals to your market: Construct a plan that will draw your target audience with interactive content. Create contests, images, videos or anything that will draw them in. Remember that people are searching for information, a good laugh or something they can win!
* Establish your brand: Take the opportunity to make your customer care about your brand. The most attractive thing about social media is that it makes brands more visible. Stay true to your values and keep the same voice on all social media sites.
* Clearly organize your content: The content you provide should be planned to be effective and to reach your audience. This means having consistently uploaded content. The better and more frequent content the more likely it is to draw their attention.
* Know your goals: Using the metrics on Facebook and those on Twitter and comparing them to those you can gather from sites like platforms like Google Analytics you can determine how effective you campaign has been. By establishing benchmarks in terms of traffic and comparing those to sales goal you can see how effectively your campaign has been and implement changes to improve on them.
* Keep your ear to the ground: Social media is all about communication and is clear way to make you brand mean more to your potential customers. It also creates an opportunity for businesses to learn what exactly they can provide to their customers as well as what sort of content they respond to.
* Create a community around your brand: The most effective way to use social media is the ability to create a community based around a company and a brand. Creating a space in which people can gather and discuss their experiences with your brand is ultimately what will make social media valuable to a business.
Creating a social media campaign can be as complex as creating viral content or as simple as creating a consistent Twitter account for your brand. But choosing which social media platform most effectively conveys your message will ensure your success. If you are new to social media, there are some ways you can get on track. You can take an online course to help you understand the growing, changing world of the internet and social media. You can also contact businesses to help you create your social media plan. The options are out there, you just have to try your best and figure out what is the best solution for you!
The main thing to remember is that you are doing this to connect with your audience. Keep up with your efforts and track your progression! Keep track of what is working and what isn’t working, that way you know what you should change and improve on. Social media isn’t going anywhere. Most companies are taking on employees just to maintain their sites every day. That’s also something to consider! Whatever works best for you and your audience.