An astounding 3.2 billion people are active users on social media each day. Yes, billion. So, what is your company doing about it? Does your marketing plan account for the massive reach of social media? Is your content engaging enough to be shared across social platforms? What emphasis is being placed on the prospect of generating new leads through social media?
Do those questions feel more like an interrogation than a simple marketing conversation? If so, your organization may be lacking a social media presence and, in turn, missing a huge opportunity to grow your business. The main players in the social media arena today are:
Some companies are active on all five platforms, some are dominating just a few. Both the industry and target market will largely dictate what makes the most sense for your specific business. Regardless, simply being present on these platforms is not enough. In fact, being active on these platforms is not enough. To truly succeed in social media marketing, your company must work within a meticulous, researched strategy.
Today, we breakdown what it takes to make an impact on social media and the steps that need to be taken to get your company there.
Social Media Marketing Strategy to Reach Your Target Market
There is no question that your competition is looking at social media to gain customers. In 2020, social media is going to expand to become an even larger giant than it is today. With the year coming to an end soon, it is imperative that your marketing plan accounts for social media’s role in client acquisition, client retention, and brand building.
It is easy to assume that big brands posting about silly things like “National Pet Your Dog Day” are using social media to be…well, social. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Companies doing social media marketing the right way are thinking about every single post, share, and reply. Strategy lays the foundation for success.
Engaging current customers, generating new leads, and making sure that your brand feels relatable and knowledgeable is essential. As you sit down to formulate your company’s social media marketing strategy for 2020, follow these steps:
- Start with goals. This may seem obvious, but far too many organizations start a full-fledged marketing plan without even considering what they hope to achieve. Incorporate the “SMART” method to ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
- Who are your ideal customers? Defining a target market is important for all marketing initiatives, but with social media it is critical. Targeting on social based on demographics, interest, and even geographic location makes it easy to reach the right audience.
- Take a look at what your competition is doing on social. You can learn a lot of actionable lessons from a competitive analysis. Plus, this is also a great way to learn what not to do to successfully engage with your audience.
- Evaluate how well you are currently doing. Auditing your own social media presence is important too. This will reveal what you are doing well and should continue to capitalize on and what needs work. The areas where work is required means evaluating whether to abandon that strategy or platform altogether or to improve upon your current efforts.
- Carefully determine what social media platforms do and do not make sense for your industry and audience. Understand that your content must cater to those platforms specifically. So, if you do not have the means to master all of them, choose the two platforms where your target audience spends the most time.
- Create a content calendar. Planning for holidays, big sales or promotions, and other relevant events means thinking through the best ways to maximize your posts in advance. A last-minute social media post is not only obvious to your target market but will drastically reduce the likelihood of its success.
- Get inspired by big brands doing it right. There is no better place for inspiration than on the social media accounts of companies with big customer engagement. Find a few top brands, ideally in your industry, and take note of what, how, and why they do what they do.
- Measure, measure, measure. The beauty of social media is that everything is trackable. Take advantage of this by constantly testing and evaluating. Adjust your strategy accordingly, and then repeat the process again.
Mapping out a social media marketing strategy is a time-consuming task. However, when done correctly, it can serve to open the door to an entirely new set of prospects and a new, exciting way to engage with current customers. Companies that execute a social media marketing strategy using the above steps will position themselves for big wins in 2020.
Are you looking for guidance for your digital marketing strategy? Could your company benefit from a social media expert? Contact Big Customer Network today for more information!
