Any combination of these goals is fair game and can help you better understand which networks to tackle, too. When in doubt, keep your social media marketing strategy simple rather than complicating it with too many objectives that might distract you. Your social media marketing strategy creates the infrastructure needed to prove the ROI of your efforts. Without one, you may be able to report on social media KPIs, but it’ll be much harder to showcase how they align with strategic objectives. This form of marketing requires you to use social media management skills and tools.

Creating a social media marketing plan is essential because it provides a structured approach to managing your social media presence. It helps in setting clear goals, identifying target audiences, selecting appropriate platforms, and measuring success, ensuring that all efforts are aligned with business objectives. Furthermore, social media platforms are constantly evolving, and algorithms change frequently.

In this LinkedIn post, Adam Robinson from R2B2B shares his journey of building a brand on LinkedIn which resonates with many professionals facing similar hurdles. Candid storytelling in this post, coupled with some reflective thought and lessons learned, makes the founder relatable and credible. This not only increases engagement but also builds trust in the audience. Through reporting on social data you’re also able to achieve greater transparency and accessibility through meaningful metrics. “Data-driven decision-making is being built into the culture beyond our social media and web team, because we can build greater transparency and accessibility using reporting and social listening dashboards,” she says.

The Benefits Of Social Media Marketing

Freberg et al. [44] characterized social media influencers as a new type of independent third-party endorser who shapes audience attitudes through blogs, tweets, and the use of other social media. De Veirman et al. [28] defined social media influencers as people who built a large network of followers and are regarded as trusted tastemakers in one or several niches. Ge and Gretzel [45] denoted social media influencers as individuals who are in a consumer’s social graph and has a direct impact on the behavior of that consumer.

You can create target audiences based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. Meta has a particularly powerful Ads Manager that will allow you to crosspost your ads on all their platforms, even if you don’t have a profile there. In this bumper guide, we’ll unpack everything you need to know about the most popular social networks for marketing (with some exclusive insights from Buffer data on each one) and social media marketing strategy. You’ll also find some resources that take a deep dive into particular areas of this increasingly important marketing arena. Each social media platform has a demographic that comprises most of its users.

Plan And Schedule Posts

By gaining knowledge in how to measure ROI from social media activities, B2B companies will be able to produce valuable insights leading to better marketing strategies (Lal et al. 2020). Moore et al. (2013) provided insights into the understanding of the use of social media by salespersons. 395 salespeople in B2B and B2C markets, utilization of relationship-oriented social media applications are presented and examined. Moreover, B2B professionals tend to use relationship-oriented social media technologies more than B2C professionals for the purpose of prospecting, handling objections, and after-sale follow-up. Dyck (2010) discussed the advantages of using social media for the device industry. Social media can be used for product innovation and development, to build a team and collaborate globally.

X (formerly Twitter)

Try to incorporate a variety of formats such as images, videos, stories, and user-generated content to keep your audience engaged. As a brand, it’s crucial to stay compliant with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, and to prioritize customer trust. Ensure your social media campaigns are transparent and respectful of user privacy, and communicate your commitment to data security. While mega-influencers with millions of followers still have their place, micro-influencers (those with smaller, but highly engaged audiences) are becoming more valuable for businesses. Micro-influencers tend to have a closer relationship with their followers, which translates to higher trust and better engagement. This trend allows businesses to create a seamless shopping experience for their followers, making it easier for them to browse and purchase without ever leaving the app.

Dive deep into social analytics to understand both your potential customers and competitors. Grasping who your audience is, their preferences, and where they spend their time online can shape your content strategy. Just be sure to target the right audience, post intriguing content and converse with your followers on a regular basis. A hashtag is a word or keyword that precedes the hash symbol and is used within social media posts to help users find topics that interest them.

We pay attention to what consumers want and we adapt our clients’ marketing strategies accordingly for maximum results. Top social platforms include YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat and X (formerly Twitter). New platforms, such as BeReal and Poparazzi, are entering the market regularly.

Your research will guide your content and ensure a receptive, engaged audience. Business.com aims to help business owners make informed decisions to support and grow their companies. We research and recommend products and services suitable for various business types, investing thousands of hours each year in this process. X is the perfect platform to allow your audience to contact you for customer support and engage with users in fun discussions.

If you’re looking to build an active community, consider increasing Discord members to strengthen your server’s presence. Social media is no longer just about engagement, it’s becoming a major sales channel. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are integrating eCommerce features, allowing users to shop directly from posts, live streams, and influencer recommendations. With one-click purchases, in-app checkout, and live shopping events, brands are using social media to drive direct sales.

Now that you know what’s involved in a good social media marketing strategy, you may be wondering how to create it. If you follow these steps and utilize all of the resources at your disposal, you’re bound to set your business and brand up for social media success. YouTube is a streaming social media platform and the second-largest search engine next to Google. If your brand has the desire and ability to produce meaningful video content, YouTube should definitely be on your radar. With YouTube, you can explain complex topics, showcase interesting processes, promote the unique features of your offerings and so much more.

Use that to experiment and refine your approach over time, and you’ll be ready to evolve your tactics over time based on what the data reveals. The goal is to create content that not only engages your audience but also performs well in search results so that you make sure your content reaches an even wider audience. That diverse content we mentioned earlier is key to maintaining engagement. Instead of relying solely on still images or short videos, aim for a variety of formats such as infographics, surveys, and tutorials. Direct engagement with potential customers also plays a crucial role.

Doing business has always been about more than just the purchase itself. A successful business considers the entire customer experience, and the best kind of experience is personal and highly engaging. [newline]That doesn’t mean you need to be overly casual, but try to strike a balance between professionalism and personality. Use conversational language, add humor when appropriate, and show the human side of your brand. Easy to run solutions for retail and e-commerce businesses, optimizing inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer experience, driving efficiency and profitability.

However, with an intuitive social media management solution, this daunting task can become easy as pie. According to Amy, Penn State Health’s social team was able to build custom reports faster and more efficiently, such that the time to build customer reports dropped by nearly 70%. They also reduced errors by 80% and troubleshooting turnaround time from 3-5 days to within an hour. Sprout’s AI tools have made a difference in how Penn State Health’s social team creates brand content. “I appreciate that Sprout gives several options when generating text. I’m sometimes pulling from this piece and adding it to another, or it just inspires a wholly separate thought and I’m writing something entirely different.

Content that resonates with your customers, including user-generated content and success stories, often goes hand-in-hand with higher engagement and conversion rates. Social gives you the advantage of curating this impactful content quickly. For example, you can monitor mentions and tags to uncover positive customer interactions and then share them on your social media channels to nurture brand trust.

Twitter has lost approximately 32 million users since Elon Musk purchased the platform in 2022. TikTok didn’t even come on the international scene until 2017, but now has more than 1.7 billion monthly active users. Digital marketers need to remain attentive to social media channel changes. Of course, customer service metrics are not just about response times and response rates.

While digital marketing spans the whole internet, social media marketing focuses on the world’s most popular social networking sites. No matter how compelling your content or how well-crafted your social media marketing strategy may be, real progress can only be measured by data. Careful tracking of your social media efforts can also allow you to make some improvements in your strategy in the future.

Social proof, such as testimonials, reviews, and user endorsements, builds trust and encourages conversions. Highlighting positive feedback from customers or influencers validates your brand. Wishpond promotes live webinars on Instagram to educate businesses on specific topics, including a CTA to save a spot.

Agencies and SMBs don’t have the luxury of throwing content at the wall and hoping something sticks. Clear, measurable goals help you focus your efforts, justify results to clients or execs, and avoid the burnout of posting for the sake of visibility alone. In his book, Vaynerchuk covers how to do this, as well as connect with your followers and customers on a deeper level through social media.

Social media marketers can use these videos to improve user experience and to present the use cases of their product(s), hence making a strong case for viewers to buy them. This Headspace culture video focuses on how employees feel about the company’s mission. The video successfully brings out how the employees are truly passionate about the brand’s desire to make the world a healthier and happier place through meditation. The video remains true to its brand by incorporating brand colors and unique brand elements too, throughout the video.

Another great way to increase engagement rates is to ask existing followers to make content, which is called user-generated content. For example, ask people to repost content by tagging you or using a specific hashtag. If people use your products, ask them to upload testimonials and feature the best ones on your social media profile. Your SMM Thai strategy must align with the company’s overall digital marketing philosophy and existing digital presence.

We created a beautiful Instagram feed, complete with UGC (user generated content) reposted from their customers and built a community of loyal followers. They then employed our social media advertising service to run ads and retarget all the Instagram and Facebook engagement they were getting. TikTok is more casual and off-the-cuff, while YouTube still emphasizes production quality. Your Facebook audience will have different expectations than your Instagram audience. The more you spend time on your choice of social networks, the more you’ll understand the unique subcultures of social media platforms. Maybe you decide to switch channels because you didn’t enjoy creating content for a social media platform.

We also uncovered that the best time to post on Instagram for engagement is generally weekday mornings between 7 a.m. Instagram is a highly visual platform that supports photos, carousels (multi-photo posts), Stories, Reels, and live videos. Facebook is the world’s most widely used social network, boasting over 3 billion monthly active users — more than a third of the world’s global population logging in at least once a month. Social media marketers are spoilt for choice when it comes to platforms — our guide to the top social media sites contains over 20 platforms to consider.

Here’s a brief overview of several platforms that can help you leverage the power of social media marketing. The future of social media marketing is poised for continued growth and evolution. With advancements in technology, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality, marketers must adapt their strategies to stay ahead of the curve. Video content is expected to become even more dominant, while personalization and authenticity will remain critical factors in engaging audiences. To excel in social media marketing, a successful marketer must possess strong communication skills, creativity, and a deep understanding of various social media platforms. They should also be adept at analyzing data and trends to make informed decisions and adapt quickly to changes in the digital landscape.

However, the more efficient way is to manage your boosted posts for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn all from one place, alongside your organic content for all platforms in the Hootsuite dashboard. It’s no accident that we start each section of this guide by reviewing the business objectives each type of social media ad can help you achieve. It’s awfully hard to achieve your goals if you don’t know what your goals are in the first place. It’s a best practice to test several ads with small audiences to determine what works best. Cetaphil leaned into trending topics paired with the Pinterest Trend Badge to show Pinners that they were aligning their content (and new products) with statistically significant trends on the platform.