If you’re like an estimated 4.89 billion people in this world, you browse social media to stay in touch with family and friends, keep current with the news and local happenings, and follow your favorite celebrities and brands. Since social media is so widely used in today’s world, it may seem like a no brainer to use it to spread the word about your business; however, successfully using it as a marketing tool is not as easy as it seems.
Luckily, the social media marketing pros at Midwest Marketing are here to guide you in the right direction with a list of do’s and don’ts for harnessing the power of social media. Continue reading for tips on improving your business’s social media marketing strategy!
1. Don’t start a social media account for your company simply to have one.
Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn – with all the social media platforms out there, it may be tempting to maximize your brand’s exposure by developing a presence on every single one. But doing so could be a huge waste of your marketing dollars and your time.
Do find the platforms that fit your brand and build a strategy. If your business is mostly B2B, LinkedIn would be a great choice. If your brand is mainly geared towards a younger audience, TikTok is likely your best bet. If you want to reach an audience between the ages of 25 – 40 years of age, Facebook is a good call.
Basically, when you hear of a new social media platform, do some research into it to see the main demographic that uses it and if it aligns with your target audience before including it into your marketing strategy.
2. Don’t post content for the sake of posting.
Now that you’ve decided what social media platform(s) you’d like to make a splash on, it’s time to start posting right away, right? Wrong! If you don’t post content your target audience is interested in, there’s no point in a presence on social media at all. And it’s not as simple as just posting whatever strikes your fancy.
Do learn about your audience to understand the content they are most likely to be interested in. You’re going to have to do a little research for this one. If you already have Google Analytics, awesome – you have access to invaluable data about your website visitors, including their location, age, and even interests – which is very helpful information when developing content your customers will connect with.
Google Analytics also gives you information about when your customers are visiting your website, which is helpful when deciding when you should schedule your posts to go out. Which brings us to our next point…
3. Don’t be inconsistent with your posting.
Picture this – someone visits your social media profile and sees that there hasn’t been a post made in three weeks, and before that, there wasn’t one made for two weeks. The lack of content will leave visitors feeling as though there’s no real reason to Like or Follow.
Do post regularly, and schedule posts to ensure you don’t forget. Whether it’s one post a week or three, make sure to stick with a consistent posting schedule. Most social media platforms offer the option to schedule out your posts, which can be a real lifesaver when life gets busy. The best course of action is to plan all your posts for the following month or two, and schedule them out for their designated dates. Just don’t forget to check back to reply to comments!
4. Don’t bombard your audience with sales posts.
Sure, social media is a great way to get your products and services in front of people, but if you make every single post about you selling those products and service, your followers are likely to click that dreaded Unlike button.
Do keep sales posts to a minimum. A good rule of thumb is to have one hard sales post for every four posts you make.
5. Don’t rely on static photos and copy.
If you’re only using static images and text in your posts, you’re going to lose the attention of your audience, and fast. In fact, video is shown to capture people’s attention five times better than static content, so not using it can leave your target audience scrolling past your posts in search of engaging video content.
Do include posts that include video, even if it’s just moving graphics. We get it – creating video content for your business can be both expensive and time consuming. If you can’t get your hands on much branded video content, you can instead use a design platform like Canva to help you make moving images that will help you better capture your customer’s attention.
6. Don’t set it and forget it.
The whole point of social media marketing is to get social with your customers, and that’s impossible to do if you’re not reacting and replying to their comments and messages.
Do check your social media account daily, even if you’re not making a post on that day. Make sure you’re checking your inbox and responding to everything.
7. Don’t forget about your goals.
Although social media may feel like fun and games, it’s a powerful tool that can allow you to reach your business goals, whether you want to increase your overall brand awareness or drive sales on your website.
Do use the features within the social media platform to help you achieve them. Most platforms offer easy-to-use insights where you can see how many people interact with your profile, how much engagement your posts get, and the demographics of your followers.
Some platforms, Meta and TikTok, for example, even have pixels you can install on your website that allow you to see how traffic from the social media platform performs on your site.
8. Don’t stick to the same routine year after year.
True or False – If something works on social media, you should keep using it over and over again until the end of time.
That one is a big huge false. Even if you do get a great reaction after posting a particular piece of content the first time, and even the second or third, you shouldn’t get comfortable and continue to use it until you run it into the ground.
Do change it up a bit and try out new trends and strategies. Social media is always changing, and if you don’t evolve with the times, you’ll never make it. Don’t be afraid to try that TikTok trend everyone’s been talking about or hop onto the new social media platform that your customers are using.
Need help making an impact on social media? Contact us today for a social media marketing strategy customized for your business’s needs!
