How to Use Social Media Marketing to Your Advantage

There are so many businesses engaged in social media marketing today it’s mind-boggling. Taking advantage of everything social media has to offer, you may find it challenging trying to shine a light on your business. Using social media to stake your territory in your niche is sometimes a daunting process; hopefully the following information can help you get started on the right foot.

Are you aware of just how popular the various social networking websites are? For instance, more than 230 million people log on to Twitter each day. Facebook users click the “like” button billions of times in a twenty four hour period. Obviously, it is possible to get some exposure on social networks, but many people are not sure how to go about doing so.

7 Tips to Use in Your Social Media Marketing Campaigns

In this article we will discuss how you can employ a social media marketing strategy. Let’s discuss these seven tips to see how you can use them to your advantage.

Tip #1. Start talking

Make sure you respond to comments posted to your social network page. You don’t have to say anything profound or earth-shattering. Simply responding with a sincere “thank you” would actually be appreciated as most people respond favorably to courtesy. By communicating with your followers, you are showing them that they are important to you.

Also, if someone asks you a question, take a moment to compose your response; make certain you are passing along valuable information. You will quickly earn a reputation for having excellent customer service, which is one way to set yourself apart from your competitors.

Tip #2. Quality is the key

Don’t post to social media websites without taking time to make sure that what you are putting up is valuable information. If you simply post fluff, your followers are going to stop paying attention to you. Most users are looking for information and entertainment, so focus on those two things when you post.

Tip #3. Get visual

Certainly, what you post to social media is important. However, think about your own news feed. As you are scrolling down through all the information that you’ve missed during the day, what makes you stop and pay attention? If it’s not the headline, then it’s most certainly either an image or a video.

Don’t be afraid to post images along with your text. Videos are great as well. Infographics are hugely popular and frequently shared so be sure to add them to the media mix.

Utilizing different types of media will help to grab the attention of your followers, who probably have a lot of posts showing up on their feed each day.

Tip #4. Analytics are your friend when embarking on a social media marketing campaign

You have to figure out what is helping you to succeed, what works for you and what does not. That is where analytics come in. You should know how many followers view your posts and how many times your content has been shared, liked, or tweeted.

Once you know what is resonating with your followers, you can replicate your efforts in future campaigns. Knowing what works with your audience is vital when implementing social media strategies you wish to pursue.

Tip #5. Use more than one platform for your social media marketing campaigns

There are probably several social networking sites that come to mind when you begin planning your marketing strategies. However, while Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest are important, they are not the only platforms that you should be logging into each day. Others, like Tumblr or Instagram, can also help you rise to the top.

Be careful you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Creating accounts with multiple social networking sites means you must show up and be social. That can be time consuming. You want to strike a balance between your marketing needs and your overall business needs. Don’t sacrifice one for the other.

Tip #6. Don’t be afraid of using hashtags in your social media marketing campaigns

You can use hashtags to spread the word about your business. Create a brand hashtag then spread it everywhere and spread it often. Each time you post, use that hashtag. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated; for example, it might be your business name, tagline or motto. You can use hashtags for your marketing campaigns as well.

Tip #7. Post frequently to your social media accounts

If you don’t post new information on a regular basis, you will quickly be forgotten. That being said, you also don’t want to flood people with too much information… be courteous to your followers. It’s a learning process, so tweak your strategy until you figure out what works best for you and your audience.

The Most Important Tip for Social Media Marketing: Be Sociable and Share

The key to social media’s popularity and success is primarily due to how much people love to share with others. The founders/creators of these social media sites understood this and embraced this behavior with open arms.

Creating shareable content will enable you to tap into the increasingly popular social media phenomenon and take advantage of its power to the fullest. Therefore, it stands to reason that you should focus social media marketing strategy on creating content that will be shared far and wide.

Not only that, but you should make it easy for people to share your content as well. So what should you do?

First, make sure you have social media buttons on your website or blog, prominently displayed, so your visitors can like, share, tweet, pin your content. Make it easy for them; don’t make them jump through hoops to share your articles.

Next, learn to appeal to people’s emotions. Content evoking emotions like wonder, excitement and astonishment are likely to be widely shared. Using colorful adjectives to describe ideas, solutions and products is also a plus when creating content you want your readers and followers to share with their friends and colleagues.

Let me repeat… when creating content you want shared, always keep in mind that content which elicits emotions is shared more than content which does not.

And speaking of sharing…

Don’t be afraid to “share” your personality, unless, of course, you don’t have one… just kidding! Friendly, sincere, humorous always wins the day; argumentative, combative, superior know-it-all… not so much. How you present yourself to the world is just as important as the information you provide to the world.

Conclusion

It is not easy getting started with social media, but it is definitely worth it! As with everything else you do, you need a plan; you need a social media strategy for each of the accounts you utilize.

Then use your social media marketing strategies to your advantage and become the leader in your niche others want to follow and strive to emulate.