Whether you’re already an experienced marketer or you’re starting your first social media marketing campaign, there is always something new to learn. Social media marketing can be an important tool for every business. According to Social Media Examiner, “Ninety percent of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses.”
Posts on different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Snapchat, etc., can be utilized to:
- drive targeted traffic
- increase brand awareness
- help boost your site’s SEO
- build relationships with new and existing clients
- be more cost-effective than other marketing outreach
- improve customer insights and compete with top brands
Asking the right questions will not only improve your chances of running a successful social media marketing campaign, but also help you avoid costly mistakes. To help steer you in the right direction, we’ve compiled a list of common social media questions you should be asking the experts at Compulse, but don’t.
Q. Do I have to be on every social network?
A. No. Two important questions to ask when getting started with social media is “Where is my audience?” and “What is my objective?”
Look into each social media channel and determine which is most relevant for your business. If you cannot create the type of content that people want to find on that network, it’s probably smart to put your efforts elsewhere. For example, if you are not a visual brand but can produce relevant and useful content, you may not have much to contribute on visually based platforms such as Instagram.
Q. Do my social media handles have to be consistent?
A. Yes. It’s important to keep your handles consistent so that 1) it’s easier for you to promote your social media across different platforms and 2) it’s easier for potential clients to find and tag you. You don’t want to run the risk of losing prospects and community members if they have to remember different ways to contact you. For example, if you’re @CompanyOne on Twitter, you should be @CompanyOne on Instagram too.
Q. How do I get more followers?
A. The simple answer is to give people a reason to want to follow you. Not only should you be consistently posting relevant content about your business, whether it’s products, services, discounts, culture, etc., but you should also focus on quality rather than quantity. In the end, you want followers who will actually engage with and be interested in your business.
Sharing content and participating in conversations that are relevant to, but not necessarily explicitly about, your brand are also best practices. In real life, no one wants to listen to someone talk only about themselves, and the same is true on social. Sharing content can also be a smart way to align yourself with likeminded brands, and joining existing conversations is a way to gain more exposure.
Beyond organic best practices, running certain paid social media marketing campaigns such as a brand awareness or page likes advertisements could help your business gain more followers.
Q. Should I connect with everyone?
A. No. Remember, you want quality not quantity. You want to follow loyal customers that are already interested in your business, influencers you’re trying to build relationships with, users you like to hear from and anyone who already engages with your content. Keep in mind that you don’t have to always follow someone to engage with them.
Q. How should I measure my social media marketing success?
A. Like other platforms, such as Google Analytics, there are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are used to measure marketing activity. These can include your number of fans or followers, how many clicks were taken to your website and how many people were reached with a post. Ultimately, these indicators help you understand how successfully you’re achieving goals like increased brand awareness, more traffic website and better customer engagement, etc. Your social analytics can be a valuable tool to strategize more efficiently and figure out what tactics were most successful within a campaign.
Q. How much does social media marketing cost? What’s the ROI?
A. There is no “one cost” for social media marketing. The key to getting the maximum ROI is to test time and money against different tactics, identify the ones that are most effective and then devote resources to these practices in the future. It’s important to remember that ROI does not have to be revenue. It can also be meeting other objectives such as clicks to your website, page likes and getting new leads.
Q. Does my company really need a blog for social media marketing?
A. No, but it really helps. A strategically developed blog is an archive for relevant, useful content that you can share on social. Those interested in learning more will end up on your website – exactly where you want them.
If you don’t have a blog or similar home for content, the information you share won’t link to your site, and the posts that drive traffic to your site won’t lead people to useful information.
Q. How long does it take before I’ll start seeing results from social media marketing?
A. It’s impossible to say for certain. This usually depends on factors such as your budget, how much time and effort you put into your social media marketing campaign, your audience, your strategy and whether you’re utilizing paid advertisements or not. It’s also important to note that social media marketing takes time, so you may not see your desired results right away.
With that said, one good rule of thumb is that successful efforts will have small impacts fairly quickly and larger impacts later. Experiments that don’t yield any results aren’t going to magically become effective later so if you don’t see any action doing what you’re doing, try doing something else.
Q. What are some common social media marketing mistakes businesses make?
A. One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is not creating a specific strategy and posting schedule for each platform. Before you add a new social media account to the list, check that you have the time and resources to implement your strategy. You should also be taking time to engage with users on that platform to build up your audience.
Another mistake businesses make is with regards to inconsistency. If you’re only posting sporadically and not responding to users in a timely fashion, you run the chance of losing followers/fans.
Q. Should I outsource my social media marketing?
A. Probably. For businesses that do not have the resources to build campaigns from scratch, or need help gaining a presence on different social media platforms, it may be a smart move to work with an agency. Not only are they the experts, but they can help you create and execute a social media marketing strategy that will support your business goals. With that being said, you should not take a completely hands-off approach. Nobody knows your brand like you do, so you will still want to play a role in guiding and informing social efforts.
Social media marketing can be an important tool for every business. However, it is how you utilize it that sets you apart from the competition. Luckily, Compulse’s social media experts have the expertise and knowledge to help you succeed and take your business to the next level. Contact us today to get started!