Earlier in 2018, we saw Facebook change business page privileges –affecting follower and engagement numbers –pushing many B2C companies to either invest heavily in Sponsored Social Ads or do something else. A few thought it was the beginning of the end for social but even after the controversial shift, Zuckerberg’s contrivance made £9.2 billion in Q1 of 2018 alone. Another gigantic platform, LinkedIn, has seen its revenue increase by 37%, reported in April 2018. Which can only mean Social Media, in its entirety, is still a powerful marketing tool.
However, simply putting money behind your assets on social will not guarantee numbers for your brands. I have seen big-budgeted ads fail to engage or effectively target its desired audience. While there is no absolute formula that will guarantee to hit your Social Media KPIs, there are sure-fire and cost-effective ways that will help you maximise your social media pages.
Tip 1 - Personify & Hashtag
Personify your brand. Add a voice, style and personality to your label. Whether it is your business or personal page speaking on behalf of your company, if “quirky” resonates with your target audience, get quirky; if they like using emojis then use those goddamn emojis!???
Use your brand’s voice when posting, replying or engaging with your network. Moreover, using the right hashtags can multiply your reach exponentially. Hashtags are now “follow-able” on some channels like Instagram. So get on the bandwagon and win.???
Tip 2 - Automate and Analyse
Invest in a social media software and preschedule, monitor, manage and analyse all your data from different platforms in one place. There are several high-performing and cost-effective systems that can cater to your specific needs.
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have their own analytics and pre-scheduler which would be sufficient for smaller businesses but if you have multiple accounts and would like to maximise your team’s time spent on social, some of my favourites are Spredfast, Sproutsocial and Hootsuite.
Tip 3 - Target and Retarget
The genius about social media marketing is its ability to specifically target audiences. Whether you are looking to target Jeep owners who enjoy baking cupcakes or interior designers who own Yorkshire terriers, social media can do it.
Additionally, these channels also host retargeted ads that will keep you in your audience’s sights and minds.
Tip 4 - Encourage Reviews and User-generated Content
Nothing beats content generated by fans and advocates. Consumers, nowadays, trust reviews and info from real people more than they trust ads. So, encourage your network to produce material about your brand and products. Run a competition, work with influencers and incentivise user-generated media.
Whether these are testimonials, videos, blogs, gifs or memes that feature your brand or products, show your gratitude with a reward or at least acknowledgment, share the material and quadruple your audience reach and exposure.
You can also partner with review and content experts like JudgeService who will help you generate and validate reviews about your business. Google reviews and star-ratings can be a bit tricky to build and collect but with apps and web services like Snap’n’Share and MicroReviews, you can capture your feedback in no time, while your client or customer is still with you.
Tip 5 - An extra pair of hands…
Ever heard of the saying, “An extra pair of hands is a free brain?”
I’ve always believed that employees who rave about the businesses they work for are the most effective marketers. Whether they have been employed as an admin assistant, copywriter, receptionist, or operations manager, they will have their own connections and networks they can talk to about you.
So, imagine if your colleagues posted and shared images of the newest property in your listing or the newest car model that has just been made available in your dealership, to their hundreds or thousands of connections in their different social media accounts at the same time. That can multiply your brand or product exposure without spending an additional penny.
So perhaps we can tweak the dictum to: “An extra pair of hands is a free brain and (an average of) 338 connections?” Yes?
Facebook users have an average of 338 friends in 2017.
Tip 6 - Content Still Reigns
Content remains “King” in marketing. Not investing in creative and high-quality info will not get you anywhere near a sales conversion. If your video, image, blog, banner or press release is dry, confusing and does not attract the attention of your target market, then forget about everything else.
Your content must be relatable, entertaining, informative and it must stick out. Before any campaigns, set out your goals, conceptualise, visualise and d-e-l-i-v-e-r.
Digital marketing is continually ever-changing and as it is exciting, it can also be very tricky and exhausting. However, with the right team and the right strategy, it will reward you with more exposure, leads and sales.
