Social media is definitely a big influence on many people’s lives. From young children to adults, you’ll find most of them are engaged in one or more social media platforms. And businesses are expected to have a social media presence if they want to have a wider audience reach. Charlotte Social Media Agency significantly increases brand awareness today.
With the rate technology is developing, it isn’t easy to keep pace with it. Thus, if you feel like you’re still a newbie where modern social media is concerned, you do not need to worry.
Social media marketing basics from Charlotte Social Media Agency
Here you will find the basics of social media marketing if you’re engaged in business. These tips are applicable for business owners who are starting from scratch if you are engaged in customer service, social selling or any form of business.
Table of Contents
1. Choose the social channels to use
The first thing you should do is to determine where you want your business to be seen. Big businesses that have large customer bases are typically present on all the major platforms. If yours is still a small business concern, it is better to choose the social media platforms that are more closely identified with your business and your target market.
- Twitter. This is a good place to start because the setup is quick. You can easily learn how hashtags are used for social media marketing and social media etiquette, and the basics of tagging.
- Facebook. This is one of the biggest social platforms. Its paid promotion platform is considered the gold standard for social media ads. It’s perfect for local consumer targeting, particularly if you have a brick-and-mortar business. It’s easy for consumers to check-in and leave reviews and comments. Facebook owns WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Instagram. If you produce several visual contents, Instagram is the social media platform for you. It’s commonly used by social media influencers, ecommerce shops and brick-and-mortar stores. With Instagram, users can be more creative with how they sell their products.
- YouTube. If you already have video content, then YouTube is a good platform for brand awareness. In 2020, there are about two billion YouTube users worldwide. About 79% of internet users have their own YouTube account. For this reason alone, marketers prefer this platform for their video content.
- Pinterest. If you are after millennials, you should add Pinterest to your list. It is a preferred network for social selling, and a good platform when you have inspirational content and excellent imagery.
- LinkedIn. It is great for B2B networking. LinkedIn is a good place for networking and business trends. If you are looking for influencers, marketing managers or possible company executives, check out LinkedIn.
2. Make sure you complete your profile
As a social media marketer, it is vital to provide your complete profile, which many people fail to do. You show you are a professional when you have a complete profile. It also makes it easier to find your business. You should provide essential information, including your phone numbers, business name, physical address, email, and web address. You should also complete your “About” and ”bios” sections with the most current information.
3. Use the right URL
If your business name is sixteen characters or less, then use the full name for your URL. Make sure that you use it consistently when you’re signing up with the different platforms. If you are undecided on what name to use and verify that it is unique, you can use NameChk to ensure that your chosen name is still available.
4. Carefully select the brand images to use
Like the saying that you should ”always put your best foot forward,” it is vital to choose high-quality images to use for your profile pictures and cover photos. Ensure that they are resized correctly so that they will be clearly visible across all platforms and media devices. Use the various online tools to ensure that your images are in the right size, resolution and format.
5. Follow prospects and monitor activities
You have to remain active when you use social media for marketing. Hire a social media manager to ensure that someone can answer queries and requests for additional information, monitor comments, requests for shout outs, new followers, notifications, and mentions. Likewise, follow prospects, related businesses, and influencers. This is a good way to check their activities and see what’s trending.
6. Determine content strategy
It would help if you had a content strategy to have a plan for your daily posts. You should have one or all of these goals:
- Educate your B2B audience by posting content dealing with industry news, opinions and trends
- Push your products by posting images of your products, particularly products in use, promotional activities, launches and more
- Provide tips, notifications, greetings and company updates if you are in the customer service business.
Use hashtags to effectively catch your audience’s attention and encourage people to post their photos using your products.
7. Use a content calendar
Determine the frequency of your posts. If you are going to write the content, remember that your posting schedule should be consistent. If you do not have the time because you are busy growing your business, hire a content writer to ensure that you regularly post material. Having a content calendar also prevents reposting the same content.
Each social media platform has the best and worst day to post content. Across all the platforms, the best times are mid-morning to midday, until about one o’clock on Wednesdays and Fridays.
8. Determine your brand voice, engage with others and promote
Adopt a social media persona, according to your brand’s personality and target consumers, so you will know how to engage with your prospects in the language they understand. Practice common courtesies even if you have a young audience. Comment and share relevant content created by others is one of the fastest ways to be noticed on social media.
Further, do not forget to promote all your social media channels. Add them to your email newsletters, signatures and footers. Include them on your website’s header and footer. You can likewise do cross-media channel promotions for additional exposure.
These are some of the more essential basics of social media marketing to help you make a start. Your growth will largely depend on how active a participant you are in the social media environment and how you use the tools and data available to find your prospects, catch their attention and engage with them.