Understanding SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
It is very evident that Social Media has become the chief source of communication in the digitalized world. It plays a very important role in our lives.
Our day starts and ends with it.
I hope you agree with me!
Social media is now being used for multiple purposes, including marketing.
Yes! SMM is the term for Social Media Marketing, in which marketers use various social media sites to gain website traffic.
What is SMM?
SMM stands for Social Media Marketing, in which marketers use various social media sites to gain website traffic.
Understanding Social Media Marketing is to generate engaging content that draws the readers’ attention. The Content is usually text, graphics, videos, news feeds, instant messages, etc. Social media site is a channel to sell and promote goods, services, and brands.
Businesses use many social media sites to perform their marketing strategies, reach customers, hear their needs, associate with them instantly and improve their brand.
SMM helps a firm to get immediate feedback from targeted customers while making the company seem more attractive.
The interactive elements of social media enable clients to inquire or complain, or report to the company. This regard of SMM is termed as social customer relationship management.
SMM became more common with the developed fame of Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Instagram and YouTube. In contrast, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has renewed its policies to include SMM.
Suppose a business or its advertising agency gives a blogger free products or other incentives to create positive buzz for any product, then these will be treated legally as endorsements.
It is the responsibility of both the blogger and the company to guarantee that the incentives are clearly unveiled.
How SMM works?
SMM works on the following principles:
Planning is the foundation of marketing, and if your foundation is strong enough, all your pillars will stand straight. Plan your business smartly and prepare effective strategies to achieve your marketing goals.
Organizing plays a vital role in fulfilling the needs of your business. Once you create a systematic framework for your business, it will direct you towards developing efficient marketing methods.
Strategy is the key to any organization. To build a strategy, identify your needs, resources, and budget. It is essential to check the effectiveness of your strategy and revise accordingly frequently.
(Note: Adhere to the latest marketing trends and be aware of the new approaches used by your competitors in the market.)
Listening to your consumer’s needs and understanding their expectations from your end is very important in social media marketing. This develops a human touch in digital marketing and engages traffic to your company.
The users will find your company addressable and therefore feel that their voice is being heard. Always try to stick to consumer needs so that you can attract more profits to your company in a short go.
Engaging Content is necessary to drive traffic and improve your brand recognition. Content is very vital in all areas of marketing. The Content should be interactive and informative at the same time so that the users do not find it boring.
Analytics help you improve your site’s traffic and find out the gaps that need to be fulfilled. As a part of social media marketing, it is very important to check your reach and track the results.
Advertising is the key to marketing success. Good advertisements lead to increased social media traffic. The definition of good advertisement is the one which have valuable content, relevant statistical data, creative designs and a human touch within the design.
What are the types of SMM?
Instagram Marketing
Instagram is the best social media platform to grow your brand awareness. It promotes your product in a smooth and authentic manner without hard selling. It also requires a lot of efforts to engage audience to your social media site. Create attractive posts and videos to draw attention of your consumers. There are more than 500 million users of Instagram out of which half of them use this media to shop online.
Facebook Marketing
With Facebook marketing, increase your traffic and your fanbase. Always remember to use customer-generated content for ads and build cost-effective advertisements.
When it comes to e-commerce, Facebook comes first at lead generation.
Facebook is the place to go if you want email addresses, with many advertisers reporting costs below $1 per lead.
Twitter Marketing
This is a very good option for brands that focus on blue collar industries, politics and B2B sales. The best way to market on Twitter is with the use of paid ads. Promoted tweets will help in spreading your brand awareness.
Social Bookmarking
The most popular social bookmarking websites include Reddit, Digg, and StumbleUpon. In current times, social bookmarking websites have transformed into active online centers where users share and discuss links and create discussion groups based on mutual interests.
Best Ways to Practice SMM
- Listen to your Audience
- Choose the right network to market
- Use hashtags
- Build your social media voice
- Do not Re-post or Over post
- Use the correct strategy
- Fix schedules for posts
- Know your competitors
- Track your reach
- Know about the latest trends
How to build a SMM strategy?
Keep in mind that a good strategy will lead you to positive returns and boost your conversion rates.
Many organizations are trying to reach their target demographic through social media. This is a means to build consumer loyalty and create word-of-mouth marketing.
There is no right strategy that works for everyone. The first step is to find out your target audience on social media. Look out for what they are interested in.
Next, figure out the most valuable times of day or week for you to post on social media platforms to increase visibility and engagement with your content.
Learn about the new marketing trends and keep updating your strategy.
Finally, make sure you are consistent with your posts and don’t stop posting just because you think the posts aren’t getting any likes or comments. Do not loose hope.