Social media is the fastest growing platform that is currently enjoying billions of users globally,
and even as you read this article, there a high chance that you’re also active on social media.
Today 90% of the world’s population is active on social media, and that means every business that wants to create brand awareness cannot overlook social media platforms. The
statistics also show that the majority of the product’s sales in 2019 came from affiliate
marketing that took place in social media platforms. Ideally, almost everybody with a
smartphone today gets into social media every day and sometimes over ten times per day.  

In short, you will never get into your Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or even LinkedIn without
seeing a specific product, or company being advertised. That’s how big social media is today, and no business can underrate the large audience it carries. 

2

. What is Social media marketing? 

This is the action of coming up with content to promote products, and services on different social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The content should be unique and tailored to the specific platform requirements that are being used to boost
conversation as well as increase your brand awareness. Social marketing is about interacting with your target audience and socialize with them as you build your brand awareness. As a business, what you need is attention and making the target audience aware of your products and services. 

Although social media marketing can help you achieve your business goals, your strategy will determine what you will gain out of the whole campaign. Every business should come up with the right strategy that will help in interacting with the target audience comfortably as well as understand what the audience expects from the company. All known social media platforms command a broad audience. For instance,

 Facebook has about 2.2 billion users and can be the best for advertising and brand
awareness. Majority of the users are the millennials and Generation X.
 Twitter has about 335 Billion users and the majority of the audience here are the
millennials. Twitter is the best for customer service and public relations.
 The Instagram audience is about one billion globally and the majority of the users are the
millennials. It can work best when used for natural-looking media, advertising and user-
generated content.
 On the other hand, LinkedIn has about 650 billion users globally with the majority of the
audience being baby boomers, millennials and Generation X. It’s an excellent platform
for business to business relationships, employment marketing and business
development.
 YouTube which handles video and motion graphics related content has about 1.9 billion
users with the majority being Millennials and Generation X. It can be an excellent platform
when used for brand awareness, how to do videos and entertainment.
 Snapchat has around 300 million users majority being generation Z. You can use it for
advertising and brand awareness.
 Pinterest as of last year had around 250 million users and is mostly used by older
millennials and young baby boomers. It’s also best for visual advertising and can be a
good platform for brand awareness.

This data should shape your social media marketing strategy. You need to understand where to find your target audience and how they expect the content to be conveyed to them. Each platform also has its requirements when it comes to uploading content. For instance, twitter only allows about 100 text characters per post, and maybe you should consider using more graphics and some brief text describing it. Facebook on the other side, has no limit in terms of the words you can use in content, but again how many of your target audience is ready to read a long post promoting your brand? These are some of the aspects that should also be used in shaping your social media marketing strategy.

3.

What are the benefits of Social media marketing?

The reason companies have adopted the social media marketing strategy, is that they have released the impact the platforms have in terms of bringing together a broad audience from all parts of the world. Social media is the best place to find your target audience without much hassle. Here are the top four reasons why your business should adopt social media marketing;

1)

To enhance brand awareness

Social media active users are estimated to be around 5 billion globally, and that’s a significant population to target as a business. Companies are spending millions on advertising on different social media platforms, and the move has been paying off over the years. In the massive social media audience, you will probably get some potential customers interested in your products or services. This makes social media an excellent platform to promote and enhance your brand awareness. Some platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram offer affordable advertising packages. You can utilize them and reach out to your target audience.
Social media marketing has been vital in spearheading brand awareness and providing an opportunity for the target audience to engage the product creator through likes, comments and shares or reposts. Again you can also do all this and include your direct links to your business website.
Some companies have staff who respond to any questions or clarifications raised by the audiences on social media platforms. That’s also another strategy to help build a good rapport with your potential customers.

2) Generates lead as well as boost conversions

Sharing and promoting your business or products on social media is the best way to boost lead generations, improve conversions as well as increase sales. Social media users will be persuaded to check what your post is all about and follow the shared link to access your website. Makes you provide high-quality and persuasive content and include the link to your website where interested customers can make their orders. The social media platforms even allow you to host live videos elaborating more about your products or the services you offer.
Please take advantage of various platforms such as YouTube and educate the audience on how to use your products and how to make their orders on your website. Similarly, you can also sell your products directly from social media platforms such as Facebook which has a Facebook shop section or even on Instagram’s shopping feature and maximize your sales.
3) Fostering Relationships with your customers

Connecting with your customers on social media platforms helps you build a strong and long-a lasting relationship with your potential customers. All customers want to shop from a company that cares about them, and that is ready to listen to them. And you can always achieve this by interacting with the potential customers on your posts by responding to their questions and on time, or replying to their comments as well as helping them if they need anything. The personal attachment is very crucial to boost your brand awareness and sales.
Again you can also ask your customers about their experiences with your products and get to know what they expect or the disappointments they got after buying your goods. Also, in case of any bad experience respond and assure them that you will improve on the areas they site. That will build trust and foster a good relationship between you with your customers and eventually your sales will be boosted. It’s also advised to have a well-trained to staff to help you build your customer relations, especially on social media platforms.

4) Helps you learn from competitors

In business, it is always good to know what your competitors are up to and learn some things from them. On the other hand, you can take advantage of their flaws to enhance your sales as well as the profits. Look at the strategies your competitors are using to win customers on social media and also adopt them. For instance, what’s their level of interaction with their potential customers and followers, how their online campaigns structured? Look at what you can borrow from them to up your game. Social media allows you to look at what your competitors are doing, and that can help you in building your brand. This will help your business when doing market research as well as when coming up with social media marketing strategies.

4. Conclusion

Social media marketing is also an affordable way of promoting your business and brand. On the other hand, you are sure of reaching out to millions of users that might be interested in your products. In social media marketing, you are assured of your products, reaching out to a broad audience.
However, patience is key and the right strategy. How you do social media marketing will
determine how many customers you will win. Therefore, it’s good to hire experts to help you penetrate the market and identify the competitor flaws that you can utilize and enhance your sales.
Do your research to know what your target audience expects from you then create the most suitable marketing strategy. Use videos, motion graphics and images where necessary to capture the attention of the social media users. However, just like any other digital marketing strategy, Social media marketing will not yield results immediately, you need to be consistent, and eventually, you will start enjoying the benefits.

Author Bio-

Shanta Narang is a Passionate, amiable, dynamic, and result-oriented digital marketing professional with over 12 years of experience in SEO, content management, brand marketing, business management, and educational counseling. She facilitates digital transformation initiatives for organizations to help them grow in the online platform. Being a DM Specialist, She helps companies to succeed in their business with the help of the latest trends and technology.

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