Social Media plays a crucial role in developing relationships and connecting people. It's widely used as a customer service tool for gathering feedback, answering product and service questions, and listening to what others are saying about your brand.
In our industry, the purpose of social media marketing is to drive sales leads and create revenue generating opportunities with a sophisticated targeting strategy unique from traditional print and direct mail marketing. Social media marketing enables you to narrow down your target audience based on demographics (statistical data about people) so that your ads and content are reaching an audience more likely to respond. This targeted approach increases the value of each social post you make so that you are one touchpoint closer to attracting new customers or to strengthening relationships with existing customers. There are three metrics that are commonly used to measure your social success:
1. Reach. The number of people who see your content
2. Impressions. The number of times your content is displayed
3. Engagement. The number of interactions people have with your content (likes, comments, shares, etc.)
Engagement with your followers through social media will build your company’s reputation and add value to your marketing efforts and sales goals. Implementing a social media marketing strategy helps to promote your products and services by
- Increasing your brand recognition and industry authority
- Creating more opportunities to convert followers into sales leads
- Driving inbound traffic to your website and improving your search engine rankings
- Building relationships and enhancing customer experience and loyalty
- Providing measurable results to track marketing and sales goals
Did You Know?
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Module 3 in the onRAMP Handbook covers best practices that apply to all social media channels, then discusses Facebook and LinkedIn and the components unique to those networks, followed by a brief overview of other social media channels you may want to consider. Topics include:
- Writing for social media and your social content strategy
- Utilizing images, sharing, tagging and hashtags
- Building followers and growing your audience
- Social media management strategies and tools
- Getting started with Facebook and LinkedIn
- YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and other networks
It isn’t necessary to have a profile on every social media channel, but social media isn’t going away so (if you haven’t already) it’s time to invest in a social media marketing strategy that works for you and your business. The following recommendations will help you understand how to tailor your social media presence to best serve your needs, and how to maximize your social media marketing strategy to grow your business.
Keep in mind that new networks appear regularly and changes in social media trends and how to use each network happen almost daily, so it’s wise to keep abreast of the newest developments by monitoring resources like Mashable, Social Media Today, Digiday and Social Media Examiner, or by regularly visiting the official profiles of each individual social media channel that you use.
