In today’s tech-savvy era, it’s almost unthinkable for any business not to step into the world of social media. However, as small business owners, we are well aware of the myriad things already demanding our attention. To assist you in this jungle, we will share 7 marketing strategies. Remember, this is a process and like everything else, you need to nurture your social media presence to reap the benefits over time. So if you are here for quick results, perhaps this post isn’t for you.
As a small business, do you find yourself at times unable to reach the audience you desire? Or maybe you want to use social media as a tool to reach your audience but don’t know where to start. Though we won’t cover every step in this process, one of the most crucial things to do initially is to conduct thorough research and define your strategy. The steps below will greatly benefit you while defining your strategy.
Step 1: Define Your Target Audience:
To reach an audience effectively, you first need to identify who they are. Following that, conducting the right research to understand and know your audience is crucial. Setting out without understanding your audience can lead to major failures and potentially harm your brand. Even big brands have fallen into this trap from time to time.
In 2018, Dolce & Gabbana faced a severe backlash in China due to a culturally insensitive social media campaign, underscoring the importance of understanding your target audience’s cultural sensitivities when crafting marketing strategies. If you wish to look into this example, feel free to do so.
How do we define the target audience? Defining your target audience involves understanding who your potential customers are by considering factors such as demographics (age, gender, location), psychographics (interests, values, behaviors), and by analyzing existing customer data, market trends, and competitor audiences. It’s crucial to create customer personas, conduct surveys, and use analytics tools to gather insights, enabling more effective and tailored marketing strategies.
Step 2: Choose the Right Platforms:
Once you’ve defined your audience, it will become clearer which platform is right for you. Don’t fall into the common trap of choosing a platform simply because it’s the easiest to use or the most popular from your perspective. The digital world is vast with a plethora of platforms available. Maybe the platform you find most popular is the right one for your brand, or perhaps your target audience frequents other platforms. An important note: don’t spread yourself too thin by jumping onto every platform; focus on one or two at the beginning. The article “Social media demographics to inform your brand’s strategy in 2023” from Sproutsocial might provide a general idea for most socials, but you’ll still need to do a little more legwork. After understanding your audience, use related terms to find your platform. For example, if you’re selling minimalist-style furniture to women who enjoy home decorating, try searching for “best social media platforms for furniture businesses” or “most popular social media for home decor enthusiasts.” Don’t hesitate to play around with new phrases for your research. Through this research, you might discover that Instagram and Pinterest are the platforms to kickstart your social media journey. Now, let’s move on to the next step.
Step 3: Create High-Quality, Engaging Content:
Yes, it’s great that we’ve worked hard to define our audience and find the right platform to be on. But the work is just beginning. Now we need to figure out what kind of voice you want to use on these platforms. Also, decide on the style and start creating maybe your first pieces of content or freshening up your strategy for existing content. Both approaches are great.
In the realm of social media marketing, content is king. High-quality, engaging content not only captures the attention of your audience but also establishes your brand’s identity and values. Since we started our journey with the example of furniture, let’s continue with that to make it easier to follow. When it comes to minimalist furniture, aesthetics are a major selling point, and your social media platforms should reflect this through well-curated posts.
Here are some important points that you can focus on: Showcase your furniture with high-res images, share decor tips, engage with followers, narrate your brand’s story, educate on minimalist design, and maintain a consistent posting schedule.
We know it’s a lot to take in all at once. Besides all these steps, if you feel overwhelmed, you can also try to use the UGI (User-Generated Content) strategy. UGI does it all at once if you do it right. But it’s not as easy as it seems. You can execute this in various ways. You can encourage your customers to engage with your platform and tag you by sharing their designs, or you can start using UGI in your own content. Some people simply decorate their homes, engage in regular daily activities, and capture it on video. Over time, they start to build a community interested in that lifestyle and those decorations.
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Step 4: Utilize Influencer Collaborations:
Since we mentioned UGI, utilizing influencer collaborations can be a game-changer for your business if you pick the right influencer. You need an influencer who has a similar target audience. You can’t just go and find someone who has millions of followers. Maybe it could work, but most probably you would be losing a chunk of money. So, follower count is not the main focus when it comes to influencer marketing. Prioritize audience alignment by selecting influencers whose followers share the interests, demographics, and buying behavior of your target audience, and focus on engagement rate over follower count, as a high rate of likes, comments, and shares often signifies a more loyal and active audience, yielding better collaboration results.
Step 5: Implement Social Advertising:
Using ads to find the right audience for your business can be incredibly helpful. It’s not solely about selling your product, but also about expanding your audience on your social platforms. Sure, increasing your audience might not be your main goal, but remember, your followers are also your potential customers.
When you use social advertising, you’re not only showcasing your minimalist furniture to those likely to purchase it, but you’re also inviting them to join your online community. Over time, this community can morph into a hub for minimalist design enthusiasts, and every new member is a potential customer.
Moreover, having a larger audience on social media can actually benefit you in the long run. It’s not just about the immediate sale, but also about nurturing a relationship with your audience. When people follow you on social media, they’re not merely interested in what you’re selling today; they’re signaling interest in your brand and are likely to be intrigued by what you’ll offer in the future too.
So, when contemplating the use of social advertising, remember it’s not just a sales tool—it’s an audience-building tool. And in the realm of social media marketing, building an engaged audience can indeed be a game-changer for your business.
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Step 6: Measure and Analyze Performance:
Tracking your social media performance is crucial to understanding what’s working and what’s not in your marketing strategy. It’s not just about counting likes and followers, but about digging deeper into metrics that indicate engagement, reach, and ultimately, conversions. Tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and Instagram Analytics can provide valuable data on how your audiences interact with your content and how these interactions lead to sales. Monitoring metrics like engagement rate, click-through rate, and return on ad spend can provide insights into the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts. Over time, analyzing this data will help you refine your strategies, allocate budget more effectively, and improve your overall social media marketing ROI.
Step 7: Stay Updated and Adapt to Trends:
Social media is a rapidly evolving landscape, with new platforms, features, and trends constantly emerging. Staying updated with the latest developments isn’t just about hopping on every new trend, but about discerning which trends align with your brand and your audience’s interests. Subscribing to industry newsletters, following social media marketing blogs, and joining professional groups can help you keep a finger on the pulse of the social media world. Moreover, be open to adapting your strategies in response to new trends and features that resonate with your brand. For instance, if a new feature or platform gains popularity and aligns with your brand aesthetics and audience preferences, exploring and integrating it into your social media marketing mix can keep your strategies fresh, engaging, and effective.
Conclusion:
Stepping into the social media sphere is more than a mere choice in this tech-inclined era; it’s a savvy business move. Yet, as small business owners, the digital jungle can often feel overwhelming, especially with a myriad of other responsibilities calling out. This piece aimed at shedding some light on this path by sharing seven potent marketing strategies. Remember, social media is a marathon, not a sprint. If quick results were what you were after, hopefully, this post has shifted your perspective a tad.
We’ve traversed through essential steps from defining your target audience to adapting to the ever-evolving social media trends. Each strategy holds its unique place in crafting a robust social media presence that not only resonates with your audience but also navigates the tide of digital advancements.
But hey, it’s a lot, we know. If the thought of strategizing social media marketing while juggling other business operations feels like a tall order, we’ve got your back. Over at Oat Marketing, we offer a range of services to help you in this endeavor. Feel free to explore our services and see how we can support you in not just navigating the social media jungle, but thriving in it.