Unlocking the Secret of Social Media Marketing
Social media. You love it or you hate it—rarely is there a middle ground. But are you doing everything you can to make your social media marketing efforts count? How do you stand out in a world of oversaturated content?
3 Tips for Cutting Through the Noise and Creating Social Media Marketing That Rocks
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
When it comes to social media marketing, small business owners often fail to take advantage of all that the digital world has to offer. With so many platforms to choose from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. When that happens, you’re likely to throw together a mediocre Facebook page and call it a day. And that’s fine–you can totally do that, but you’d be doing yourself (and your brand) a huge disservice.
To clarify: We’re not saying that your business needs a Facebook account, a Twitter handle, an Instagram page, a Snapchat and it’s own zipcode. Far from it. We believe in quality over quantity. But we also believe in reaching your customers wherever they are. Facebook is tried and true, but don’t be afraid to get your toes wet and dive into some of the other social media platforms that are out there. Your social media marketing will thank you (and so will your customers).
Ready to start crafting the ultimate social media marketing strategy? First, ask yourself these five questions.
Give ‘Em What They Want
Creating content is tough, there’s no way around it. And you’ve got a business to run, so it’s easy for these things to fall by the wayside. But content, as you’ve heard before, is king–and establishing your brand as a quality resource for your customers is the whole point of social media marketing. You can skate by on Motivation Mondays and Throwback Thursdays for a while, but to really start making your efforts count, you’ll need to get a little bit more innovative. For suggestions about how to get started, we recommend Social Media Examiner’s 26 Tactics to Create Social Media Content.
Before you press “post”, ask yourself: is this content going to add value to someone’s feed? Will it make them smile, think, cry, or–most importantly–press that ever-illusive “add to cart” button on your website? If the answer is no, it’s time to rethink your social media marketing strategy.
Have a Plan
We’ve said it once, we’ll say it a thousand more times. Heck, we’ll shout it from the rooftops! When it comes to social media marketing, you’ve got to have a plan. This is really the heart of what we’re trying to say here: to see results, you need to think critically about the best time of day to post, the best platforms to use, and the kind of content that you’re putting out into the world. Gone are the days of willy-nilly posting.
You’re better than that, Girlboss, and it’s time to whip your social media marketing into shape.
If that sounds overwhelming–don’t worry, you’ve totally got this. Kickstart your social media marketing plan with Hootsuite’s easy to follow 6-step guide. And remember: this is just the beginning. With lots of hard work, persistence, and consistency, you too can have a social media portfolio that rocks.
