Whether you’re starting a new business or you want to expand the one you’re already running, there’s no better way to do that than having a good representation on social media channels.
Image by Esther Vargas via Flickr
However, having a good and noticeable presence isn’t as easy as it was some years ago, and there’s a lot to know if you want to be good at social media advertising. Today we’ll talk about basics and what you need to know to launch a perspective marketing campaign on social media.
Choose Your Channels Based on What Makes the Most Sense for Your Brand and Your Audience
The policy “the more, the merrier” doesn’t always work on social media. Instead, it’s wise to begin with one account on a network that is one-size-fits-all, like Facebook. It is the largest social network on the planet with 1.5 billion users, so you’re sure to find your audience there.
Twitter and Instagram are more demanding because you have to post more regularly. Twitter is an excellent channel for keeping in touch with your customers and connecting quickly with them via hashtags and tagging. Instagram is used for posting pictures and telling a story through them, but you have to be very active to be noticed. The same goes for Pinterest, another highly visual media that won’t really help you unless you’ve got some amazing photos or pins to share. And, if you want to share your business successes and opportunities with other big company names, then LinkedIn is a good network to focus on.
Each of these networks should be handled differently, so you’ll have to do some research in order to decide which social media channels make the most sense for your brand.
Paying for Ads is Becoming a Necessity
Image by MKHmarketing via Flickr
Advertising on social media is becoming more complex with each year, and not paying for ads won’t get you far. The biggest social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have made sure that in order for your updates and posts to appear in the newsfeed of your followers, you need to pay to boost them. In fact, when posting on Facebook without paying, about 10% of your followers will actually see it, and when it comes to Twitter, you have some fifteen minutes before you’re forever lost in the newsfeed.
When it comes to paying for ads, even though it’s not very expensive, you should know where every penny goes. Think about who you want to target with your ads – you can narrow down your targeted audience and then work your way toward the wider public. Also, it is quintessential for your ads to be eye-catching and compelling, so choose both your pictures and your words wisely.
Track Your Links to Know Your Course of Action
You need to know what posts and links generate the most traffic. Link tracking is the best way to accomplish this. Once you understand what your audience likes and clicks on the most, you’ll be able to adapt your content accordingly. There are some useful tools that you can use to track links like Google Analytics, Octopost and Clickmeter that provide each of the links you share with a tracking code, so that you’ll know exactly how well a certain link performs with your audience.
Don’t Shy Away From Influencers
Influencers are people across different social media channels that have a strong follower base thanks to their strategic use of social media and quality content. Once you make an agreement with influencers, they will promote your product/service to their followers, often for a fee. Determine the standards that partner influencers have to fulfill (don’t just pick them based on the number of followers they have) and make sure you have clear goals of what you want of them before you contact them. Their view of your product will make it more appealing to their followers that can quickly become your followers as well.
As you can see, everything starts with your goals when it comes to social media advertising and how imaginative you are in obtaining them. There are different strategies you can employ, but in the end, it all comes down to the quality of your content and knowledge of how to use it wisely.
This article was originally written by Adam Ferraresi for the Heyo blog.
