Understanding Social Media marketing is one of the basic aspects in order to gain popularity for your brand. In today’s era, every business is working online methodologies on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc. since online consumers are many and can be targetted as per different demography and geographies.
Numerous individuals are interested in understanding social media and it’s marketing methods due to the opportunities it presents on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Let’s delve into SMM with its definition and details. Why? Because it will put you in a masterful position to increase sales and website traffic.
What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
It’s a marketing strategy that focuses on social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MX Taka Tak to promote brands, drive website traffic, target specific audiences, and increase sales.
SMM involves utilizing social media networks to advertise and showcase a company’s products and services. It offers companies the opportunity to connect with their current customers while also attracting new ones by promoting their desired culture, mission, or tone. Additionally, online campaigns are equipped with data analytics tools that enable marketers to monitor and measure the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
Types of Social Media Marketing
Why It is important?
Social media has brought about a revolutionary change in the way we function as a society, particularly in terms of communication. Businesses have taken notice of this shift, especially with the rise in popularity of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They have started leveraging these platforms for online media marketing to further their interests. The reason behind this is the influential power these websites hold over consumer behavior.
Social media platforms provide marketers with a range of methods and strategies to promote their content and encourage user engagement. Many social networks allow users to provide specific information about their location, demographics, and personal preferences. This enables marketers to tailor their messages to align with what users are most likely to respond to.
According to Buffer, there are five important pillars for SMM.
- Strategy: This step includes focusing on goals, social media platforms to utilize, and the kind of material to be shared.
- Planning and Publishing: Businesses should plan out their content (for example, will there be videos?). Photographs? How many scripts are there? and determine when it will be made available on the platform.
- Listening and Engagement: Monitoring what users, customers, and others are saying about the company’s content, brands, and other asset. This may need the use of a social media interaction tool.
- Analytics and Reporting: Knowing how far postings go is a crucial part of being on social media. Therefore, engagement and reach reports are essential.
- Advertising: Buying social media advertising is an excellent way to market and build a brand.
How can I create a Online Media Strategy?
Without a strategy, you can’t do marketing on social media networks. You need to :
- Determine your social media objectives. Connect your SMM objectives with the broader goals of your company.
- Analyze your brand’s target audience: To reach their hearts, you must define your customer profile. Learn how to use social media to interact with your target audience.
- Choose your social media platforms wisely. Not all social media platforms will grow your business. Let’s say, for example, you can’t sell t-shirts on LinkedIn. It’s like wanting to go to Mars on a bike. So choose your social media platforms wisely, which may suit your business.
- Determine the tone of voice for your brand. So, you have to decide how you interact with the customer. I’ll use one instance for better understanding. Your product is t-shirts and your brand name is “XYZ”, so you have to create a tone according to your brand. It’s not like you’re selling a t-shirt but your voice tone is for shorts. Hence, the way you interact with the customer or clients, you know the tone for your brand in SMM strategy.
- Make a content strategy for yourself: You can do namely promotional, (just like you have seen, many of the influencers have taken a brand name), entertaining (sporting events, memes, etc.) and informative (explaining the product’s use, just like beard oil or personal care products).
- Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to track your progress: They should be closely related to the primary objectives of your online marketing activities.
Examples – Case Studies
There are numerous examples and case studies of successful online Media campaigns where brands effectively utilize content to engage customers and stimulate conversations. Despite the increasing prevalence of paid advertising on social media platforms, marketers consistently find innovative ways to maximize exposure, expand their reach, and effectively convey their brand’s message.
1) Gillette’s–The Best Man can be
Gillette created a social media advertisement in January 2019 with a focus on a contemporary perspective of manhood. The brief video, exclusively released on YouTube, showcased various instances where men confronted traditional notions of masculinity that Gillette aimed to challenge. These instances included the fear of expressing emotions, instances of sexual harassment, and engaging in bullying behavior. The film then portrayed numerous examples of positive masculinity, such as standing up for others and showing care for loved ones.
Undoubtedly, the #MeToo movement had a significant impact on marketing strategies.
Watch: How Gillette Leveraged YouTube for ‘The Best Man Can Be‘
What made it so effective?
- This Gillette campaign is managed. This campaign was able to make good on a very topical and extensively discussed matter. It contrasted Gillette’s former branding with a new one, demonstrating the company’s readiness to evolve.
- At the same time, it was highly contentious – some people were offended by how the short film depicted males and believed it was insulting.
- They even created a hashtag, #BoycottGillette, though it only accounted for about 3.5 percent of all social media discussions about the campaign.
2) Spotify’s – #Year Wrapped
In 2019, Spotify launched a promotional campaign called Spotify Wrapped, which provided customers with an opportunity to explore their most significant musical highlights on the Spotify website. Wrapped offered a unique homepage that showcased users’ most-listened-to artists, genres, songs, and other intriguing data insights.
Additionally, users could discover how their music choices aligned with significant events in their lives throughout the year. After reviewing the data analysis, Spotify encouraged users to share these highlights on social media platforms, particularly Twitter and Instagram Stories, while tagging their favorite artist of the year.
According to Twitter, the campaign generated at least 1.2 million mentions within its first month. Over 60 million individuals engaged with the in-app narrative experience and Wrapped playlists accumulated nearly 3 billion streams.
What made it so effective?
- To start off, the app provided a distinctive experience for each user, enabling them to observe how their music preferences evolved throughout the year and which songs accompanied them in various aspects of their life.
Secondly, by allowing and encouraging social media sharing, Spotify expanded the campaign’s reach.
Naturally, individuals wanted to showcase their highlights to their friends, thereby increasing the number of people interested in experiencing the campaign.
These examples exemplify effective SMM because they make it easy to track the number of people discussing the campaign and gather their opinions on it.
Conclusion
Without a solid understanding of SMM, it is impossible to become a master in the field. It is crucial to comprehend the objectives of the target audience and identify their demands. While there are numerous strategies and tools available to create advertisements, posting them in the wrong place renders them meaningless.
The key principle to remember is that “Content is king,” but it is equally important to establish an environment in which your product or services can thrive. In simple terms, failing to do so will lead to a decrease in sales. If you find that your content on social media platforms is not yielding optimal results, it may be beneficial to explore reputable SEO services.
How do Nice SEO Services help you?
Nice SEO Services offers search engine optimization services that not only boost your branding but also contribute to providing a valuable user experience on your website. For more information about our Search Engine Optimizations services, please feel free to contact us at info@niceseoservices.com.
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