Our world is becoming increasingly digital, and proper social media marketing is vital for your brand and growing your audience. Effective social media marketing campaigns are among the best ways to ensure your business succeeds.
Whether you're just starting a social media campaign or looking to improve your current one, here are some tips that can help you reach success, along with some examples of companies that do it well.
Source: Pixabay
8 Tips to Improve Your Social Media Presence
- Respond to your audience
- Use hashtags
- Ask customers to share their experiences
- Connect with your audience (rather than promote)
- Be consistent
- Use humor when appropriate
- Foster a community
- Have specific goals for each social media platform
While it is true that social media is constantly changing, these eight tips and tactics will provide you with a solid framework to build your presence on and around.
I encourage you to follow influencers specializing in social media marketing to stay on top of the latest news, tips, and tricks.
You should also read and bookmark Social Media Blueprint for Business Success.
1. Respond to your audience
Your audience should be at the center of your social media campaign. They want to feel heard and respected, and engaging with them is one way to strengthen your brand and message.
In addition, this will help create a strong connection between you and your target audience, which increases engagement on your website.
Loop earplugs do a great job of responding to and connecting with their audience. They even managed to pivot their target market due to the feedback that they received from their audience.
Originally targeted towards the concert-goer and nightlife crowd, Loop's trendy earplugs also gained traction among those with sound sensitivity or autism. Keeping in touch with their audience set them up for success and rapid growth, even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
If they hadn't kept close to their audience, the company could have suffered significant losses in business due to the reduction in concerts and other events with loud sound exposure.
Instead, Loop did a great job staying connected with its audience to discover even greater business opportunities.
Source: Cottonbro Studio
2. Use hashtags
Hashtags are powerful tools that can show potential customers what kind of content you post and how active you are on specific platforms like Instagram and Twitter.
Use relevant hashtags that describe what your business does and popular ones related to the topics you’re talking about in your post.
Dove is an excellent example of a brand that uses hashtags on its website to create successful social media campaigns, such as the #RealVoices campaign. They provide buttons to link directly to social media, making it easy for consumers to share a post on social media.
This way, consumers can easily share posts that resonate with them and hashtags that create awareness for the campaign. It's a great way to create an interactive, consumer-driven marketing campaign with social media users.
3. Ask customers to share their experiences
If you have loyal customers, ask them if they wouldn't mind sharing your posts on their accounts or tagging their friends in them.
When customers post, it can significantly boost exposure and help get more people interested in your business.
In addition, consumers are more likely to trust opinions and endorsements from other consumers rather than a brand directly.
Source: Fauxels
Coca-Cola's recent "Share Happiness" campaign is an example of an effective campaign that encouraged consumers to share personal experiences around their happy memories.
This strategy is fantastic for connecting with consumers' personal experiences and positive experiences with the brand or product.
4. Connect with your audience (rather than promote)
Consumers want brands to connect them with others. So it's important not to be too promotional for social media campaigns; instead, focus on connecting with your audience.
You can best connect with an audience by providing valuable content such as tips, advice, or even stories that connect with the audience. It's a more subtle way to connect.
Research shows that consumers feel more connected to brands whose CEOs are on social media. Consumers want to feel personally related to their favorite brands and brand leaders.
Source: SproutSocial
5. Be consistent
Ensure your posts are consistent across social media channels regarding the tone of voice, visuals, format, etc.
Consistency will ensure that customers always know what type of content they'll find when they visit any of your accounts.
To be consistent on social media you can use social media management tools to connect with your audience on a regular basis. With features like scheduling, analytics and content planning, you can easily maintain an active social media presence for your users without the hassle.
For example, the Economist uses a clear and factual tone to deliver information on social media.
6. Use humor when appropriate
People love jokes! Don't be afraid to incorporate humor into some of your posts—just ensure it fits the style and values reflected in the rest of your content.
Here's a great example from General Electric:
Source: GE
7. Foster a community
Consider creating groups or forums where people can discuss topics related to your product or service—this will make sense of community amongst users who share similar interests or experiences.
Consumers look to brands to generate dialogue, support causes, and create strong communities. So design your social media campaign around ways to connect with consumers.
8. Target specific goals for each social media platform
What works well on Facebook might not be the best strategy on Twitter. Strive to create content that fits the particular platform and audience.
Facebook is about connecting personally with your audience through pictures, videos, and direct engagement.
Think of Twitter as an elevator pitch. Connecting with Twitter users is about sharing instant, bite-size information with your audience. Pay attention to analytics, see which posts resonated well with your target audience, and adjust accordingly.
One brand that successfully engages well on Twitter is PlayStation. They regularly post a combination of content to promote user engagement, trailers, and streaming events to grow over 376% in followers in five years from 2014 to 2019.
Source: Pixabay
Facebook, on the other hand, is more about cultivating long-term relationships. The marketing strategy for Facebook is more long-term, evergreen content.
Nike is a brand that has a significant Facebook presence, emphasizing its research and development, science, and charitable organizations.
Overall, their presence on Facebook exudes a message of cutting-edge and high-quality products without being overly promotional.
Conclusion
Social media is a potent tool for connecting with customers and building relationships between brands and consumers.
Using these tools strategically to create a sense of community while targeting specific goals on each platform is essential.
Consider your brand voice and use innovative ways to build brand trust and reach a broader audience in your next social media campaign.
Author Bio:
Dr. Amy Sarow obtained her Doctor of Audiology at the University of Iowa and spent her 4th-year residency at the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences in Jacksonville, Florida.
Dr. Sarow is a Michigan-based audiologist, Audiology Lead for Soundly.com, and Forbes Health Advisory Board member. In addition to her clinical work, she promotes hearing health care and patient education in digital media outlets, podcasts, and publications.
Dr. Sarow has been featured on KevinMD, NPR, Forbes, People.com, and other publications. You can follow her blog at https://amysarow.com or read more at https://www.soundly.com/blog/
