Is social media helping or hindering your business?
It’s critical for social media to be a major component of your marketing plan, no matter the size of your business.
However, unlike a number of other marketing efforts, it can be harder to know how to track your return on investment with social media.
Is an increase of ‘likes’ enough to justify an increase in spend?
These questions will depend on your social media objectives, but we’ve put together a list of our top 7 secrets that you need to know to achieve good results with your social media marketing efforts and campaigns.
Secret #1 – Think like your customers
Whenever you’re interacting on social media with your favourite brands, you most likely expect certain behaviours from them.
- Easy-to-find contact information
- Quick responses
- Honesty and transparency
Do you provide your customers with this same experience?
When you’re developing your social media strategy and content plan, make sure to approach things from the perspective of your customers, considering what they want and ways you can accommodate them.
Secret #2 – Stick to business
When it comes to using your company’s social media accounts, avoid posting personal opinions or photos.
You should be careful about what you post on your personal social media account as well, since it is easy for people to connect your business and you. You don’t want to alienate any customers who might not agree with some of your personal opinions.
Social media can be used to connect with potential and current customers. The Manifest published a report that showed 74% of customers are social media followers of businesses, and 96% interact with brands they follow.
Secret #3 – Use the right social media platforms
Facebook might be the biggest social media platform in the world, with its 2 billion monthly users however, it might not be the best platform for your business. Older consumers have a tendency to be active on newer platforms like Facebook, while the fastest growing social network is Instagram.
If you have a B2B business, then LinkedIn will most likely be the most effective social media platform for you to use, while e-commerce businesses and retailers might find that Pinterest is successful for them.
In 2005 there were just 7% of adults on social media. By 2018 this figure jumped to 65%. So, your audience is there, you just need to find them.
BONUS TIP: Find out which social network is used most by your competitors by searching for them and seeing how they interact with their audience.
Are they active on Instagram but not Pinterest? This sort of simple competitor analysis can help you find the right social media platform for you.
Secret #4 – Don’t give away too much info
Whenever your company posts things on social media, it isn’t just you simply speaking to your current customers. Anybody can read your content – and this includes your competitors!
And although you want your followers and fans on social media to know what you’re up to and be interested in the educational content you’re sharing, you don’t necessarily want the competition to know precisely what you’re using as your edge.
Whenever you use social media, it is essential to find a way to pique people’s interest but add a strong call to action, so they feel compelled to take action.
If you make an Instagram post to release your latest blog, make sure you provide the link to said blog in your bio, otherwise your followers will lose interest quickly.
Secret #5 – Address negative feedback
Sometimes, responding to negative reviews can be beneficial.
Far too many businesses ignore negative feedback or worse delete them! (This only makes customers more frustrated and reflects poorly on you). Your response rate is important.
Here are a few review stats for you to keep in mind:
- 75% of all small businesses do not respond to reviews at all
- Businesses that reply to over 20% of their customer reviews earn 42% higher revenues compared to businesses that don’t respond to reviews
- Companies that have a higher than the average number of customer reviews earn an extra 82% in revenue compared to businesses with a below-average number of reviews
- Businesses that have over 200 customer reviews earn double the revenue than the average business
So, if you’re receiving reviews on your Facebook page, it’s time to start replying to them.
Consumers are nicer than you might realise. For a typical business, 81% of all online reviews are positive ones.
And remember, you don’t reply to negative reviews to placate one person – your entire audience watches that exchange, so you’re actually demonstrating your values and professionalism under pressure to hundreds or even thousands.
Secret #6 – Harness the power of ads
Marketers are continuing to increase their social advertising budget. Have you started to do the same?
Social media budgets are expected to more than double over the next 5 years. With more ads being produced than ever before, this increase shows the effectiveness of social ads – would businesses keep investing in paid ads if they weren’t an effective way to generate exposure, traffic and leads?
One out of every Facebook page today uses paid media with Google and Facebook continuing to dominate the field of online advertising. At the very same time, 64% of the companies surveyed said that their organic reach had declined and so they had increased their paid advertising budgets.
Of course, we could talk about stats until the cows come home.
The truth is social ads are a proven way to get more eyeballs, clicks and calls. So, when will you take the plunge?
Secret #7 – Be yourself
There is one fundamental rule in business that has never changed…People like doing business with people they like. Earn the trust of your customers by being genuine and authentic in your social media communications.
When consumers trust and like you, they will be more likely to share your posts, which will help to grow your circle of influence, grow your exposure and grow your business.
Looking for help getting your next social media campaign off the ground? Chat to our team at Sea Salt marketing today to find out how!
