How Do I Market on Social Media?

Digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to engage your audience directly using minimal content and high-impact media. However, the perception that direct engagement is simple, free and quick can be misleading. Like any other marketing channel, building an effective social media presence takes a calculated approach that you execute with precision.

Social networks are a means to an end, not the end itself. It is important to understand their function in your overall digital marketing strategy. Let’s take a look at how social media promotes your business and how to optimize your marketing on these networks.

The Function of Social Media Marketing

Before you promote your brand on social media, it is important to understand how it best works in your digital marketing strategy.

Social media is a marketing channel that drives traffic back to your main marketing platform.

In most cases, your main digital platform is your website. So, every post you make on your social media page should get the reader to click on a link that leads back to the site, where you actually conduct your business. Think of it this way: if your website is your storefront, then social media is your digital billboard.

If you place all of your effort on getting noticed on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, but do not increase traffic back to your website, then you are spinning your wheels. Your marketing is only half as effective, if at all. Here are some tips on driving traffic back to your site:

• Every time you add content to your website, announce it on social media.
• Create Facebook ads that lead back to your website, not your FB page.
• All posts should contain a link back to a relevant page on your website.
• Include a call to action on your posts, inviting readers back to your site.
• Continue adding fresh content to the site to give readers something new.

In addition, do not give away too much information on your social media post. Keep it brief so that the reader does not feel satisfied just reading the post. You want them to click the link, not just ‘like’ the post.

Improving Your Social Listening Skills

Social listening is another term that includes monitoring and analyzing the feedback you receive from your target audience. Different people respond to different types of content. As a result, the feedback you receive may vary depending on the social media users. What type of feedback should you monitor?

• Direct mentions of your brand
• Keywords in specific discussions
• Topics that pique audience interest
• How your target audience interacts with your competitors
• Social media trends

There are several reasons why social listening is crucial to your social media marketing strategy. First, your customers love it when you respond to their questions, comments or needs. They appreciate the interaction. Second, you can keep track of how well your marketing is performing on all social media channels. Third, social listening helps you identify new ways to innovate your business. Finally, social listening helps you expand your market and increase customer acquisition.

Organic and Paid Marketing on Social Media

Once you create a social media page, you will have two main options for promoting your brand: organic marketing and paid marketing.

Organic Marketing

Organic marketing allows you to grow your audience and customers through grassroots efforts. They naturally follow your page or like your posts because they like what you have to offer or the information you share. Organic is another way of stating that you did not pay for any ads.

Organic marketing gives you the opportunity to maximize your company’s personality and culture. When creating content, it is important that you align your content to the platform for the best results. Use hashtags, keywords, and content that people recognize and respond to on the platform. How you advertise your company may look very different on LinkedIn than it does on Instagram or Twitter.

Paid Marketing

The only drawback to organic marketing is that nearly all social media platforms will limit your exposure in one form or another. If you want to expand your market reach on a social platform, then you may want to invest in paid marketing. Paid ads provide leverage for small businesses that may not have thousands of followers or unlimited resources for exposure. Networks provide social media management tools that can help you increase brand awareness.

Aligning Your Social Media Strategy with Your Business Goals

When developing your social media marketing strategy, your posts should reflect your business goals. Your goals indicate what types of content you should create and how it will attract your target audience. There are five ways you can determine what content you should create:

1. Be specific with writing content that points back to your goals.
2. Track your progress using social media analytics and tracking tools.
3. Benchmark small successes with each post or group of posts.
4. Create relevant content that reflects your goals and reaches your target audience.
5. Establish a deadline and a schedule for keeping your posts and content on track.

When you know what to post and when to post it, then you are more likely to succeed in meeting your social media goals.

Social Media Marketing for Your Business

At Lucid, we provide a wide range of marketing tools that helps you expand your market reach while targeting the customers you want. We deliver measured results that reflect your brand and help you reach your goals. To find out more about our services, call us at 850-760-0478 or fill out the quick contact form below, and we will be in touch.