Let’s assume that your business is on social media. (With 65% of U.S. adults using some form of social, you are crazy if it isn’t!) Let’s also assume you have a Facebook page, and maybe a Twitter or a LinkedIn account for your company, depending on your industry.
But are you doing enough to make a difference for your business?
Back in 2010, it might have been enough just to have your business on Facebook. Now, you can’t even show your posts to everyone who liked your page! Yes, the people who voluntarily opted in to receive your updates see them maybe 1-2 times out of 10. What this means, is that you could be wasting your efforts, sending your messages into a void.
So what should you do about it? How do you step up your social media game?
Expand Your Horizons
There is plenty of other fish in the sea, you know. We are not suggesting to delete your business Facebook and Twitter or stop posting entirely. Simply look for different social networks and new opportunities to reach your target audience. Facebook might be a safe bet, but there are many people who use multiple social networks or hang out in highly focused communities.
Are you trying to sell your new piece of tech to early adopters? Why not explore a relatively new social network, such as Ello, and get your idea in front of early adopters of social media? Or you could try your luck in Reddit communities for a chance to get your content to go viral.
Put Some Money Into It
Maybe that’s not the answer you were looking for, but if you are serious about social media marketing you should definitely consider taking advantage of in-platform advertising. When used smartly, ads can help you amplify your reach and get big results for a minimal investment. Consider this: if you pay $5 for a lead that that becomes a customer and pay you $2,000, that’s a great ROI!
Learn More About Your Target Market
Social media is a fantastic way to get in front of your target audience. But it’s also a good opportunity to learn more about these people. What are their dreams, hopes and aspirations? What are their biggest problems and concerns? There is a goldmine of information on social media and in forums if you know where to look. This information will help you build or refine your buyer personas to make sure every piece of content you create hits the mark.
Get Creative
Being creative helps if you want to stand out from the crowd (hey, that’s our motto!) With so much digital noise, it’s getting harder and harder to obtain and maintain people’s attention. How many times have you come across something interesting on the Facebook newsfeed meaning to check it out later when you get home. But later you couldn’t find it again because that post has long drowned in the sea of cat videos and political rants. You need people to like, share, read or otherwise act upon your post right there when they first see it. You want them to remember your social media account as “that page with awesome tips” and tell their friends to “go check it out.” Now, this is a very ambitious goal, but it’s achievable. Get creative, create interesting images, find or develop content that no one else has and you’ll be on your way there.
Measure it
How do you know if whatever you are doing on social media is working? The truth is, you don’t if you don’t measure it through analytics. Almost every social network these days has a platform for businesses that offers basic tracking abilities, such as tracking likes, comments, shares, reach, etc. Facebook probably has the most robust analytics of all, especially for its ads section. You can even track which people with Facebook accounts visited your website! For even more data, dig into Google Analytics or sign up for a separate social monitoring platform. Once you know how to use all this data, you can put money toward the strategies that bring you the most return and not waste time and resources on dead-end methods.
Does this sound like a lot of work? If you do want to use social media to its full potential, it will definitely require some time and effort. Misfit Interactive will be happy to help you with a strategy, implementation, analytics or any other aspect of social media marketing. Get in touch!
