Social media marketing campaigns are one of the most effective ways to reach prospective customers where they are.
According to a study cited by Anthem Business Software, the average user spends as much as 10 hours per month on social media. Many are even more active. If you do business in a consumer-facing niche of any kind, you can’t afford not to speak to the social media users in your target audience.
If you’re new to social media marketing, the idea can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, getting started is easier than you think. Soon enough, you’ll be in a place where you can truly own your social media campaigns.
Here’s how to own your social media campaigns.
1. Set Clear, Realistic Goals for Your Campaigns
Start by asking yourself and your team what you need to get out of your social media campaign. Are you looking to:
- Build awareness of your brand?
- Generate more leads for your products?
- Drive first-time or repeat sales?
- Market to people who’ve considered your products already but haven’t converted (remarketing)?
Your marketing objectives will determine your plan’s scope and tactical elements.
2. Conduct a Competitive Analysis of Your Niche
Next, figure out what your competitors are up to in the social media realm.
For true apples-to-apples comparisons, look for competitors marketing similar products with similar campaign goals. So, if you’re building brand awareness for your hiking and camping products, you’ll want to look for other outdoor equipment retailers using social media to build buzz for their products.
Use publicly available data to analyze each competing campaign and identify strategies that work for your competitors. Chances are, they’ll work for you as well.
3. Work to Boost Organic Engagement
Paid social media promotion is increasingly important in a cluttered, chaotic information ecosystem. But organic engagement still matters too. And while it only takes one well-crafted post to generate sustainable social media buzz, developing a following takes time and lots of trial and error.
Before you launch your first official social media campaign, take some time to cultivate an organic following on your preferred social media channels. With a bigger base of followers, you’ll find it easier to break through the noise when it really matters.
4. Develop Granular Buyer Personas for Your Top Prospects
Know who you’re selling to, or at least what your ideal buyers look like. Develop buyer personas for each of the customer archetypes you serve: for example, 25- to 34-year-old women who earn between $75,000 and $150,000 per year.
Make these personas as granular as possible using available data. To strengthen that data, you may need to survey your customers or even hire a market research firm to spot trends you’d otherwise miss.
Then, tailor your social media marketing messages accordingly. Your social outreach should speak directly to your prospects.
5. Use Social Media Channels That Make Sense for Your Brand and Industry
Don’t waste your limited resources on social media channels that aren’t popular with or even relevant to your core audience.
Your competitive analysis should reveal which channels are most successful for your closest competitors, and your buyer personas should confirm whether those channels will also work for your brand. Keep in mind, some of the most successful social media marketers stick to one or two properties that work really well for them.
6. Use a Content Calendar and Scheduling Software to Stay Ahead of the Curve
Know what you’re going to post, when you’re going to post, and how you’re going to follow up with the social media engagement you hope your campaign will attract.
That’s what a social media content calendar is for: helping you stay ahead of the marketing curve. You’ll also want to use scheduling software so that you can make new posts while you’re doing other, more important things (like planning your next round of marketing content).
7. Curate Relevant Content From Other Sources
Finally, make sure your social media campaigns aren’t all about you. The majority of your social posts should be relevant to your industry and audience but not directly self-promotional. Mix it up by curating high-quality content from non-competitive sources, sharing social content from popular handles relevant to your audience, and offering insights or recommendations that your followers want to see.
Take Control of Your Social Media Campaigns
This is a lot, and it’s true that it’s not the last word on running a successful social media campaign. There’s more to learn about promoting your business, cultivating relationships with your audience, and using social media to drive conversions and sales.
But this is a great foundation. Your first social media campaign will thrive if you can set clear and realistic goals for it, develop granular buyer personas for each segment of your audience, understand what your competitors are doing in the space, and use tools that make your social outreach more efficient and effective.
You’re ready to take control of your social media campaigns. When will you begin?
Image Credit: Cristian Dina; Pexels; Thanks!
The post 7 Ways to Own Your Social Media Campaigns appeared first on KillerStartups.
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January 20, 2022 at 08:05AM by Maya Johnson, Khareem Sudlow
