When you’re absorbed in the work of growing your business, it can be difficult to take on the additional project of launching a social media marketing campaign. A savvy campaign requires strategy, content creation and regular tending. It informs and engages your audience, addressing their concerns and answering their questions.
The end result can look cool and conversational, but that comes from careful orchestration. The idea is to imagine that your brand is a person - what would that person say? What would that person share? How would that person respond to friends and followers? You are building a presence for your brand, and though it may look breezy when it’s enacted, a well-constructed social media presence doesn’t happen accidentally.
Your social media marketing manager helps you establish and enact this persona. That’s why this professional is key to helping you shape your success. If you don’t have the bandwidth to devote attention to the consistency of this undertaking, hire someone who can do that for you. A halfhearted attempt sends the wrong message to your customers, clients and prospects.
You want them to see your presence on social media as an extension of your professional savvy and devotion to customer service. Social media marketing does more than just trumpet your brand, it demonstrates your awareness of trends in your industry, positioning your business as an industrial expert. It also fosters chatter with your audience.
Discover your audience
The bulk of Americans are Facebook literate. Pew Research Center reports that almost 70% of Americans use Facebook; three quarters of those users check Facebook at least once a day while nearly half report visiting multiple times daily.
Pew reports that nearly 75 percent of Americans use a combination of three social media platforms that they check on a regular basis. Younger adults are inclined to use more platforms and to check them more regularly.
Whatever work your business enacts, your audience is probably reachable via multiple social media platforms.
Hey trendsetter
One way you flaunt your insider expertise is by showing off on social media - demonstrating that you know the ins and outs of your industry. If you’re at the big conference, pepper your feed with quotes, observations and pictures. If you’re not at the event, follow those who are, sharing your favorite posts, stories and pictures. You want your customers, clients and prospects to know that you’ve got your fingers on the pulse of the trends driving your industry.
In the same way, you want to keep up with hot developments - new publications, products, big names, seasonal news - this way, your audience comes to count on you as their resource.
The power of social
In the early 1960’s, the great Marshall McLuhan famously opined: “the medium is the message.” Interactivity defines social media. You can wake up on a Sunday morning, for example, read an editorial and tweet a response to the writer and the publication before you’ve even had breakfast. Not only are both able to see your feedback, but so are their audiences and yours. You’re not just sharing your response, you’re bolstering a buzz.
The interactive nature of social media gives it power. It’s a savvy move to harness that energy to further your business objectives. But do so purposefully, and with the help of someone who can help you build a plan and create the content that suits your purpose and audience.
Holler back
You want your audience to engage with you just as you want to engage them. You want the buzz! Social media positions your company to interact with customers, clients and prospects in real time. It’s a powerful and a publicly visible opportunity.
Your measured and consistent response is key to making this work. A social media manager can help by responding directly on your behalf or alerting your team when you need to respond.
Three dimensional marketing
Social media marketing is three dimensional. It’s about shaping content for audiences you can track and whose responses you can measure.
It’s powerful, it’s fun, and it’s where your audience is, so give it a try!
Need help with your social media marketing plan? Give us a call at 224-650-6722!