5 Step Guide to Effective Social Media Marketing

Most of us use social media on a personal level every day, but did you know about all the benefits social media marketing has for your business?

Don’t know your tweets from your pins? Don’t worry ? we’ve created an easy 5 step guide to effective social media marketing to get you started.

1. Identify your objectives…

Businesses use social media for a number of different reasons. Most of our clients want to achieve one of the following, although your objectives may be different…

• Increase brand awareness
• Increase website traffic
• Generate sales
• Maintain customer relationships

Once you’ve identified what you want to get out of social media marketing you can select the right platform for your campaign and begin to plan an effective strategy.

2. Choose the right platform…

There are loads of different social media platforms out there to choose from, all with different features, benefits and demographics. Make sure you check out our guide to the some of the most popular social media platforms out there and who is using them before you make a decision.

3. Develop an effective content strategy…

As a general rule, the content you post on your social media pages should consist of…

• 50% curated content – This is content that is relevant to your audience, shared from a third-party source. Check out relevant bloggers and online publications to find sources of great useful content.
• 30% original content – Original brand content may be a blog post, video, infographic or other piece of content that you have produced yourself. Original content can be repurposed and reused as long as it is still relevant.
• 20% promotional content – Finally, reserve 20% of your posts for promoting your products or services. Try and do this without sounding too ‘salesy’ otherwise your followers will switch off or mark you as spam. Instead share some positive testimonials and offer helpful advice to your followers.

4. Talk to the right people…

While posting great quality content is an important part of social media marketing, a solid campaign will also focus on building quality relationships. To get the most out of your marketing, you should be regularly connecting and engaging with…

• Influencers – these are people who have the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others. They could be a blogger, thought leader, celebrity or industry figure. By building relationships with relevant influencers, you may find they recommend your products or services to their followers.
• Other businesses – champion other businesses in your local area or industry – you’ll be surprised at how many return the favour and promote you back!
• Customers/target customers – be helpful – answer your customer’s questions, respond to reviews (good and bad!), offer them advice and give them a promotion/reward for following you.

5. Try social media advertising

Paid advertising has now become an essential part of social media marketing. 

Facebook’s latest algorithm means that organic reach for your page is just 2%! That means that when you post something, just 2% of the people who like your page will see it appear on their timeline.

Like any advertising platform, Facebook doesn’t want businesses advertising for free and no matter how much you fight it, you really do need a budget to make your social media marketing work effectively. Thankfully, this doesn’t mean breaking the bank. Facebook is one of the most cost effective advertising platforms out there and you can run adverts for as little as £5 per day.

Social Media Marketing Support From Platform81

With so many different platforms to choose from, all with different features and benefits, it can be a challenge to develop a strategy that works well for your business. When you work with us, we get to know your business inside out and ensure you get the best out of social media marketing for your budget.

Why not give us a call for friendly advice and to see how we could help!