How to Master Social Media Marketing For Business in Five Steps

April 11, 2016         By: Lucy Maher

Think business owners log on to Facebook a couple times a week to post before calling it a day? Think again. Sixty-three percent of small businesses surveyed in Social Media Examiner’s Social Media Marketing Trend Report spend more than five hours each week on social media marketing, with 22 percent devoting between 11 and 20 hours a week.[1]

In a 40-hour workweek (though many entrepreneurs might spend much more time on business!), that’s a significant percentage spend with social media. Small business owners and marketing teams can optimize this time by adopting a few key strategies to grow their audiences – and with that, potential for sales – through compelling, relevant, and targeted messaging.

Here are five tips to mastering the art of social media marketing:

Be Genuine

With the dawn of commenting, the ability to tag friends and family, and the chance to share compelling posts with one’s followers, a typical social media feed now acts as a place to chat, rather than consume promotional content in a vacuum.

To be in the conversation, your goal should be to engage your followers, not just sell. One strategy is to ask them to share their ideas, perspectives, and insights with you as it relates to a certain product or service. One tactic to start the conversation is by offering advice about using a product, but asking social media followers to offer their own experiences. That means that if you are selling a new piece of exercise equipment, for example, instead of broadcasting only its attributes, throw in a few posts asking your audience to share the best ways they get and stay fit throughout the year.

Get Organized

Since you spend a lengthy amount of time preparing your business plan and making sure your website aligns with your objectives, in the social media space, you should look to inject a consistent and distinct tone and voice with each of your posts, and remain consistent in the type of imagery you are using to sell your products or services.

Timing Is Everything

Timing is a critical component of success in social media, as news feeds refresh quickly and consumer attention is limited. It’s important to strategize when to post based on who you are targeting and what language you will use. Break down post timing based on when those audience members are most likely to be online. For example, when trying to reach working commuters, post during rush hour when they are already checking their smartphones on the train or bus.

Analytics-based sites – a couple of examples are Hootsuite and Sprinklr – allow you to time your posts, and see the velocity and reach of each. Create a system to monitor the timing, wording, and look and feel of each post so you can better analyze its success, and use this information to inform future campaigns.

Identify Your Most Important Metrics

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the backbone of any good social media strategy. Are you hoping your audience shares your posts to increase visibility among link-minded Internet-users, or is e-commerce top of mind, and therefore clicking through to visit your site is more important to you? Figuring out the desired result of each post will allow you to design it in a way that best suits your needs.

Understand the Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Platform

Is video your prime communication vehicle? Then you may consider focusing on YouTube, which enables longer-length, even episodic, campaigns. Do you want to create a robust community? Then Facebook, with its sharing and commenting capabilities, might suits your brand best. Or, if you’re selling vintage or unique goods and gifts, Instagram or Pinterest offer the best platform for sharing compelling photos.

Take the time to integrate these strategies, and you can grow your skills in the social media space, build a stronger community among your customer base, and even potentially bring in new loyal customers.

This article was brought to you by Discover Network. For more insights into consumer trends and the world of payments, visit Discover Network Perspectives.

[1] https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-marketing-trends-for-small-business/