3 Keys to Using Social Media to its Fullest

It is no secret that social media has completely impacted the way, we as people, interact with each other.

We can say with a good amount of certainty that if you are reading this, then perhaps you have a personal social media presence. So our question to you is: Which social media outlet do you frequently use the most? Do you have a Facebook page? If you do, you probably use this site to keep in touch with your old high school or college friends, and like to share articles that are of interest to you. You probably enjoy posting updates about life and give commentary about current events. Maybe you have an Instagram page. If you’re an Instagram user, then perhaps you enjoy documenting everyday life through images. You most likely enjoy posting photographs of your favorite foods, your favorite locations, and your favorite hang out spots with your closest friends. Are you more business oriented? Then perhaps you have a LinkedIn page. Having a LinkedIn page says you are person likes to be connected with individuals that may create a significant impact to your professional life. The wonderful thing about these sites is that you can give a glimpse of who you are without giving up too much. You are in complete control, and that is certainly one of the many great aspects of having a social media presence.

Social media has the power to make people not only connect with friends and acquaintances, but it also has the ability to make individuals make connections with others they don’t know: New and beneficial relationships can be created. If these connections can be made on a personal level, imagine the bonds that can be created from a business standpoint. Almost all businesses depend on creating lasting relationships with their stakeholders. When social media is used effectively and in a strategic manner, creating these important relationships with customers, employees, and other important entities will be much easier for business owners. If proper social media strategies are maintained and executed, businesses can maintain and create relationships that can have a significant impact on how a business operates. That is how influential social media has become for a diverse range of businesses. Let us provide you with some insight on how you can use social media to its fullest for the success of your organization.

Be S.M.A.R.T.

There must be a plan in order to increase our chances of success. No campaign, whether it be in advertising or social media marketing can be successful if a strategy is not in place. In order to achieve whichever goal you have in place for your business, there must be certain steps that must be done effectively. Incorporating the SMART principle to your strategy (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely) can decrease the likelihood of encountering obstacles in the journey of achieving the overall goals for your business.

Here is how you can include the SMART principle to your strategy:

Being specific regarding the SMART principle, means to narrow down and discover what your goal is and how you will be able to achieve it. Some examples may include investigating who are you trying to attract in terms of audiences, and how you will be able to attract those audiences. Precision is key to successfully execute a strategic social media marketing campaign. When you start putting a timeline for your campaign, you are advocating for the measurable standard of the SMART principle. When you place a timeline, you are encouraging yourself to begin to commit to achieve the goals of your campaign. Having initiative is highlighted by the measurable component of the SMART principle.

All of the components of the principle work together to help a campaign be successful but the following component, the achievable standard, is significant because from our perspective it makes the individual become reasonable. We are certain you would like to implement certain tactics for your campaign, but are those tactics financially realistic to carry out? Is your overall vision practical to execute? Those are some of the questions you may have to ask yourself for the well-being of your campaign.

Is your campaign relevant?

Another component of the SMART principle is if what you are trying to market has any relevance. How does your product or service stand out amongst the rest of the organizations around you that provide the same? What makes it unique? If you are able to identify components of your business that will create a positive distinction from other organizations within your industry, then the worry of whether or not your campaign will have any success will diminish, because you know your products and services have a place in your desired market. Finally, the last component of the SMART principle, is if your campaign is able to executed in a timely manner. It is one thing to place a schedule to your campaign, the other is if you are able to achieve the strategies you have implemented within the time frame you placed for your campaign. If certain goals for your campaign are not being reached within the allotted time, then perhaps changes in strategies must be considered.

If you are able to incorporate some, or all of the components of the SMART principle, it will certainly make your campaign journey go much more smoothly.

Content, Content, Content

Let’s talk about content. As far as we are concerned, content is what makes social media so significant for many businesses. If you want a successful social media campaign, you have to make sure your content is consistent, know who you are targeting with the content that’s created, and finally your content must be engaging. The type of content you will create may depend on the industry, or the type of audience you are targeting. This brings us to the different forms of content out there.

There are diverse forms of communicating with desired audiences. Some of the most significant forms of content are textual, and image based. When it comes to textual content, you can create a diverse range of material for the social media sites that you will use for your campaign. You can ask questions to audiences that follow you on the social media sites your organization uses, as well as posting facts (to your audiences) about your products or related information within your industry. For certain industries or audiences, you can be a bit more daring when creating a dialogue. Wendy’s, a fast food chain, does a magnificent job in being engaged with their audiences.

When it comes to images, the impact that can be created can be more significant. We tend to admire images more than text, which makes us pay more attention. You, as the business owner or marketing professional in charge of a social media marketing campaign, can take full advantage of this. You can create creative short videos, infographics, have a live stream, use photography to create the desired engagement.

Remember to have a purpose for using all of these forms of content, whether it be written or visual content. Remember to research what forms of content will produce the most engagement. If proper research on desired audiences is done, then you can create the content that will surely create a positive impact for your overall social media marketing goals.

Take advantage of SMM (Social Media Marketing/ads)

Of all the different ways you can reach your audiences, creating a social media marketing campaign is one of the most effective ways in creating a successful mutual relationship, one between a business and an audience. There are so many benefits that come with creating a campaign of this nature. If you are able to create and obtain significant social media presence, then gaining the trust of the audiences you are trying to reach will be likely. Trust is an important factor in maintaining a business/consumer relationship. Keep it mind, make sure your content is relevant and serves a purpose to your consumers, if your message and brand identity is consistent, then trust can be established successfully.

Use ads (aka boosted or promoted posts)

Another important aspect of social media marketing campaigns are that with the use of advertisements, you can reach desired audiences without breaking your budget. We all know the difficulties of executing campaigns, and most of those difficulties are based on financial constraints. Creating social media ads can certainly alleviate some financial concerns when reaching target audiences. Having a social media marketing campaign also allows you study your audiences. Through the many social media management sites, such as HootSuite, and your social media network’s own tools such as Facebook Insights, for example, can be of great aid to help you learn about your audiences. You can decide which strategies to take next based on the data provided by these social media management tools. Take the time to consider which avenue you will take in creating a social media campaign. Find your purpose, your reason in creating a social media marketing campaign, then take the proper steps in creating a successful campaign that will create a stronger and more significant mutual relationship.

Get help setting the foundation

If you would like to understand in detail how you can incorporate social media strategies to your business marketing goals, contact b.iD for Social Media SOS (Strategy & Organization) Sessions. We will be able to identify which strategies for your social media marketing campaign are best suited for your business. During the 3-hour one-on-one sessions, we will discuss which social media platforms are most effective for your business. We will also provide you with a beneficial resource guide that will help you create content that is sharable and of quality. Preliminary research is also done prior our sessions. If you would like to get to know more on how you can incorporate, copywriting, web design, and print and graphic design, as part of your content marketing campaign, look out for our upcoming e-book which will help you get started planning your 2018 Content Marketing strategy.

As we have stated before, social media is not exclusive to personal and recreational use. If you can understand how you can use social media’s great power of reaching diverse audiences, creating lasting relationships with your desired audiences can be fulfilled. It takes initiative, innovative content, and patience to successfully take a social media marketing campaign from inception to completion. They say that nothing lasts forever, but we are certain that social media will continue to have a considerable amount of influence in the success of any marketing goal for years to come.