What makes social media marketing successful? And how can it be turned into a tool to build your brand? Creating and sustaining a social media presence in your marketing strategy is vital to stay relevant in today’s fast-paced business environment.
There are currently 2.6 billion people using social networking sites around the globe. To develop and maintain strong relationships with your customers and prospects, you need to be present on prominent social media platforms. We here at Floodmaker have highlighted the most effective ways for driving better results with social selling!
1. Use the Right Social Media Platform
With there being so many social media platforms to choose from, it’s important to select those which are best suitable for social selling. Generally, you can select a platform based on where your target audience spends most of their time.
You need to do some research to find out which platforms your target audiences are most engaged on. According to a study by Pew Research Center, Facebook’s user base has a significant number of people across every age group. And as of 2021, monthly active users on Facebook are nearly 2.7 billion. So, this platform is often a good building-block for your company regardless of the brand. Facebook is best if you want to increase brand awareness or generate leads. On the other hand, if you want to expand your network of influencers and professionals then Twitter and LinkedIn may be the best options.
For example, a wine producer from Bellevue, Great Wine, tries to educate their wine enthusiastic audiences by posting wine drinking tips. They use Facebook as a medium to share their tips regularly and to connect with their audiences. Floodmaker understands that the objective of your social selling campaign will also play a key role in your selection of the right social media channel.
2. Use Live Videos
Utilising live videos in company marketing are increasingly popular among brands that wish to engage their audiences. In fact, a Livestream survey found that 80% of the audiences prefer watching live video from a brand then reading their blogs. Additionally, 67% of people who viewed live videos are more inclined to purchase tickets to an event after watching a live video of it or a similar event.
If you’re looking for additional methods to improve your social media marketing efforts, a live video should be an important part of your marketing. You could live stream brand events, interviews, behind-the-scenes, etc. to increase the audience engagement ratio. Make use of video creation tools to make easier videos and generate more content.
3. Create Your Brand’s Story
What your brand is saying and how it says it can have a huge impact on how people relate to your business. Building an emotional core to your business and its ideologies constructs a deeper connection to your customers. Effective storytelling is crucial to the success of your brand’s marketing.
Stories always help to develop an emotional connection between your brand and your target audience. Apart from what and how you say it, the medium through which your brand is communicating your story is also important. Social media is a highly effective platform to share your brand’s stories on and to connect with people.
Let’s look at an example; Intel shares inspirational stories of the company with their audiences on Instagram. By posting stories, pictures of the company’s founders, and fun facts, the company is able to maintain the high engagement rate.
4. Implement User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful ways to promote your products or services. People trust other people and their reviews more than marketing gimmicks or the claims of brands themselves. Using UGC, your target audience will get honest feedback directly from other customers, which is a form of social proof that helps position your brand as trustworthy.
User-generated content also affects the purchasing decisions of consumers. According to the Consumer Trust Report of 2016 by Olapic, nearly 47% of generation Y are interested in seeing user-generated images while pre-shopping. User-generated visuals are perceived as more trustworthy than other forms of content. A report by Stackla found that more than 50% of respondents agree that UGC visuals are more influential and impactful than a brand’s own pictures or videos.
Therefore, it is strongly advised that you give your customers a platform through which they can brag about their purchases. Make it easy for your clients to share stories about why they are in love with your products or services and they can market your brand for you through word-of-mouth.
5. Use Social-Friendly Images
In modern marketing, it is difficult to find any social media marketing content that doesn’t have images. Customers are getting pickier and are rejecting the use of stock images. But how do you create new and innovative images on your own when you are not a designer?
For a startup or a small business, it may not be viable to hire a designer, therefore tools like Venngage or Undraw are a vital part of keeping up-to-date in the marketplace. So, make your own infographic, image, or template and see how social-friendly images can grab the eye of your audience!
6. Use Instagram for Posting Ads
Instagram is one of the most widely used social platforms for social selling. A huge and diverse online community, Instagram has become a powerful social media platform with more than 700 million active users on the platform.
The engagement rate on Instagram is higher than on Twitter or Facebook. Many top brands have witnessed a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21% more as opposed to other platforms. If your brand is not using Instagram ads, you are losing out on connecting with many potential buyers.
Be sure to consider the medium of Instagram before developing your ads. Make sure your advertising material is visually appealing and targeted at the right audience demographic to ensure success.
7. Use Relevant Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to improve brand visibility, however you’ll be required to do some research before finding the most relevant and effective hashtags for your brand. The hashtags should appeal to your brand’s targeted audience. The more specific the hashtag is, the more relevant your audience will be. This will lead to better visibility and higher engagement rates for you and your company.
Always try to use variations of hashtags and include a generic hashtag along with a unique and specific hashtag. Once you figure out what is working for you, stick to it. And use the same amalgamation of hashtags on all social media platforms. It will be easier to identify your key supporters and to track your mentions with the help of these hashtags.
For example, KFC took the advantage of a trending hashtag called #NationalFriedChickenDay, which helped KFC gain visibility with their target audience. Even you can take the benefits of the trending hashtags, but make sure the hashtag you’re using aligns with your brand and can help you attract more audience and followers.
8. Employee Advocacy
The most efficient way to increase brand awareness across all social media platforms is through employee advocacy. Your employees also have followers on their social media handles, so asking them to assist in directly advertising their work for your brand can drastically increase your company’s visibility online.
Ask them to share their experiences of your product on their social media handles and grab more audience’s interest because in comparison to celebrities, employees are commonly seen as more relevant. They are also easily approachable, and more trusted sources of recommendations for your potential buyers.
Reebok used this tactic and the above strategy of using relevant hashtags when they asked their employees to share their fitness activities and their love for fitness. They combined the posts with a unique hashtag for the campaign, #FitAssCompany. Reebok encouraged their employees to post authentic images relevant to the brand on Instagram or Facebook, and saw their business outreach grow as a result.
9. Be On Time
The secret behind a successful social media post is to share the right post at the right time. No matter how strong your marketing campaign is, timing is a crucial factor. If you mistime your posts, you risk decreasing the amount of people that see your brand’s content. You might not get the desired results if you don’t publish your posts at the right times.
For a marketer, it can be increasingly challenging to handle multiple social media platforms. Therefore, it’s important to schedule posts ahead of time for your social media platforms to make this task easier. Even if you are unavailable, the scheduler will make sure to post the content at the right time when your target audience is most active.
In Conclusion
The points mentioned above are some of the most successful and effective ways to increase sales using social media. Utilising social media to its fullest potential is the best way to ensure your brand’s products and services are highly visible to relevant potential buyers.
Of course, juggling the tasks of identifying the right social media channels to engage with, creating your brand story, creating engrossing video and photo content, generating UGC, identifying and implementing the correct hashtags and promoting staff advocacy of your brand can be a lot to deal with.
We here at Floodmaker have all the right tools and knowledge to assist with these demands in the ever-changing online marketplace, and can ensure you get the most out of your company’s social media presence. If you would like to learn more about how our services can help you, contact us today!