7 Things You Should Know About Social Media as a Marketer

Marketers play a significant role in helping businesses grow.

They are the reason that people can easily identify a brand and connect with it. If this happens to be your job, then you likely put in a significant amount of work to make these things a reality for your organisation.

This isn’t always an easy task and requires the right knowledge and investment of time. You probably use social media as a marketer, and if not, perhaps you’ve been thinking about incorporating it into your marketing strategy. If so, there are a few fundamentals that you should know to help you make more headway.

Not Every Platform is for You

When marketers first begin using social media, it can be tempting to open an account for every social media platform that exists. This may seem like an ideal move to make, but it isn’t. This is because every social media platform serves a unique purpose, and it’s unlikely that your audience is on all of them. In light of this, you need to take time out to research where your audience spends most of their time before choosing your platforms. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the most popular and what they’re typically used for.

Facebook - Out of all of the social media platforms out there, Facebook is said to be the most popular. With 1.94 billion users, it’s a very attractive platform for most businesses. Some benefits of using this platform are that you can share photos, videos, status updates and now can also utilise the live function.

LinkedIn - If your focus is on more business to business interactions, then LinkedIn is a good platform to use. You can look at other businesses company profiles as well as increase the credibility of your business in the process. There’s the chance to post blog content and look for prospective employees too.

Instagram - For those in sectors that can use images to promote their business and capture their audience, Instagram is the ideal platform. It allows more visual and artistic ways to promote a business. In addition to this, it’s ideal for creating a community as there are high levels of engagement.

Twitter - If you want to focus on customer service and quickly connecting with audiences, then you should join Twitter. When people complain about a business or want to voice opinions, they usually do it here. You also have the ability to share text although limited, images, and videos.

Goals Are Essential

As a marketer, it’s imperative that you understand the importance of goal setting. Without it, there’s no differentiation between you and an average social media user. You should know the reason behind using each platform and what you’re trying to achieve. The easiest way to go about goal setting is to make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely (SMART). When you have goals that are realistic, you’re more likely to know what you’re working towards.

A Strategy is Necessary

Goals are a single aspect of a greater plan which is a marketing strategy. These strategies take your goals into account, give them flesh and tell you how to achieve them. When developing a marketing strategy there are a series of steps you need to take. As mentioned, earlier you need to start with your objectives and then define who your target audience is. This can be done by creating personas that give a detailed account of what your average customer would look like. Once this has been done, you can move on to researching your competition and seeing how they’re fairing and what they’re doing right. It’s also crucial that you don’t forget to include how you’re going to evaluate and measure your success as this is the only way to improve and produce better results.

Good Content is Needed

Social media isn’t about just posting anything and hoping for results. Careful thought needs to be put into the content that’s put out, and each should have a purpose. Think about what you want the end receiver to feel when interacting with your post whether it be excited, entertained, or informed. Also, see what content your audiences seem to be interacting with and try and replicate as well as reinvent it adding your own personal touch. Seeing as so many brands are fighting for the attention of their audiences, creating content that’s interesting is essential.

It’s Okay to Outsource

It’s important that you face the fact that social media marketing can take a great deal of time to carry out. You should be realistic about whether you have this time to spare or whether outsourcing is a better option. You could, for instance, decide to outsource Instagram marketing and instead focus your efforts on the strategy side of things. By doing so, they can answer your question on how to get followers on Instagram. In the same respect, you could give content creation to professional copywriters or content creators who could save you time and money as well. Just think about the most cost-effective and practical approach that will give you the best outcome.

Influencers Can Help Your Efforts

When it comes to effective social media marketing, sometimes the best way to gain traction faster is by partnering with influencers. Seeing as they already have a platform and audiences, they can help you get the attention you need. Try not to focus on their following alone as that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the results that you want. Choose individuals who would probably use your products or services even if they weren’t being paid to do so as their appeal is likely to be more authentic.

Branding is Necessary

Without strong branding, it’s almost impossible for your brand to make a lasting impression on social media. This is because branding is what connects you with them and makes your values as a business clear. When branding, make sure your tone is consistent, and your core message is always clear. The goal should be to be as authentic as you can and tell your story using your various platforms.

Beyond these points, there are so many other things that every marketer should know about social media. However, the ones mentioned above could make a world of a difference if taken into consideration and help you see results. Always keep in mind that social media is a way to speak to your audience directly, so think about what you want to say and ensure it’s a message worth listening to.