Social media marketing plays an instrumental part in modern brand-building. This is one industry standard that can’t be emphasized enough: if you run a business in the modern market, you need a social media presence. It doesn’t have to be big and flashy, but it needs to be smart, substantive, and effective. For entrepreneurs with little or no experience in social media marketing, this can seem daunting. In reality, the foundation of a social media marketing strategy is pretty straightforward.
In fact, being familiar with the basics of social media marketing is good for you in a lot of ways. First, you’ll understand the role of social media and how to use it for your brand-building. Second, you’ll be able to clearly communicate what you want and expect of your marketing team. Third, you’ll be able to build campaigns alongside top marketing agencies without missing a step. For these reasons and more, it is absolutely worth your time to get familiar with social media marketing’s role in your company’s brand.
Laying the Groundwork
Social media is one of the first places people look for businesses. If they want to know your hours of operation, phone number, or address, they are more likely than ever before to check their favorite social media platforms. First and foremost, what they will look for is activity. If you are not active in posting substantive content, your audience will immediately notice. Lack of content can cause new customers to distrust you and previous customers to wander away.
Social media marketing’s role is not first and foremost about direct selling. Your presence on social media is primarily about building a good rapport with customers and creating a compelling brand story. Social media marketing is all about making your audience want to interact with your company or organization. Getting people to trust your organization is one of the most effective ways of converting engagement into sales, donations, or action.
How to Start Using Social Media
If you know how to use it, social media is an incredible marketing tool. Social media marketing is governed by a few key principles. Beyond that, it’s up to the creativity of marketers and entrepreneurs.
Honestly, the first principle you need to remember is pretty simple: don’t panic. Newcomers usually think social media platforms are far more complicated than they are. Remember that social media platforms are designed to be intuitive and — after a little practice — enjoyable to use. Plus, your audience will actually be really understanding as you get your feet wet. Many consumers enjoy helping businesses start, and improve, their social media marketing.
Social media marketing isn’t about reaching everyone. It isn’t even about simply reaching a large amount of people. Social media marketing is focused, above all, on reaching the right people. This requires a lot less quantity than many think, there’s no need to post social media updates constantly. With social media, quality is almost always better than mere quantity.
Next Steps
The most important step after selecting a social media platform is to complete your profile. This is more important than you might think. Completing your profile shows your audience that you are a legitimate company. If you don’t already have an idea of what your brand’s “personality” or approach should be, consider having a discovery session with your demographic. That can help you figure out what parts of your business to emphasize and how.
Since engagement is a high priority in social media marketing, quality posts are paramount. Social media marketing is all about engaging prospective and returning customers, then turning that engagement into the action you want. A social media presence is so important, so let Transformation Marketing help you today.