Social media marketing has become crucial for businesses of all sizes in today's digital world. While established brands have robust social media strategies in place, many new entrepreneurs and small businesses are just getting started with social media. If you're a beginner looking to use social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to promote your brand in 2023, here are some tips to get you started.
Understand Your Audience
The first step is to understand who your target audience is. Think about demographic factors like age, gender, interests and location of your ideal customers. This will help you choose the right social networks to focus your efforts. For example, if your target market is Gen Z, spending more time on Instagram and TikTok may be better than Facebook. Determine a few key things about your audience like their pain points, interests and lifestyle so you can create relevant content for them. Conduct some customer research through surveys to gain insights.
Create Engaging Content
Now that you know your audience, it's time to start creating content for your social pages. The key is to post engaging, shareable content on a consistent schedule. High quality images and videos tend to perform better than just text. Some content ideas could include tutorials, behind-the-scenes snippets, social proof from customers, educational guides, infographics, Q&As and contests. Make your content scannable by using visual elements like headlines, bullet points, captions etc. Experiment with different types of content to see what resonates best with your followers.
Consistency is Key
Posting consistently on social media is important to build awareness and engage your followers over time. Start with posting at least 3-4 times per week and work your way up as your following grows. Stick to a posting schedule and time that works for your target audience. For example, posting in the evenings and weekends tends to get more engagement. If you go MIA for too long, your followers may lose interest. Ensure someone is responsible for maintaining your social calendars and responding to comments/messages.
Leverage Hashtags
Hashtags help your content reach a wider audience outside your current following on different social channels. Research popular, relevant hashtags in your industry and location to include 1-5 hashtags per post. Avoid overly used generic hashtags. You can also create your own branded hashtags to track engagement. Monitor hashtag analytics to see which hashtags are driving the most clicks, follows and engagement for your page. Hashtags are especially important on visual platforms like Instagram.
Collaborate with Influencers
Partnering with influencers and micro-influencers in your space can be a great way to expand your reach, especially as a new brand. Look for influencers with engaged audiences that align with your target customer persona. Send them products to review, promote contests they can participate in or collaborate on sponsored content. In return, ask them to tag your business and include a dedicated hashtag or link in their post. Choose influencers wisely based on relevance and credibility.
Analyze Your Metrics
To improve your strategy over time, it's important to analyze key social metrics on a monthly basis. Track vanity metrics like followers, likes and shares. But also look at more meaningful metrics like engagement rates, click-through-rates on posts/links, follower growth rates and website traffic from social. Tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Google Analytics and influencer marketing platforms provide these insights. Analyze what content, times and hashtags are driving the best results to optimize.
Engage with Followers
Beyond just posting your own content, actively engage with your followers by liking and commenting on their posts and messages. Reply to relevant comments or questions on your posts in a timely manner. Most followers appreciate brands that take the time to interact authentically. You can even turn fan comments and questions into new content ideas. This engagement helps build credibility, strengthens relationships and increases loyalty over time.
Drive to Your Website
While growing your social media following is important, the end goal should always be to drive traffic to your website where people can take the next step of becoming customers. Add social sharing buttons and links throughout your site. Promote new blog posts, offers or landing pages through your social updates on a regular basis. Test different calls-to-action like discounted coupons for social traffic. Tracking these click-throughs helps measure how effectively social is translating into real website traffic and conversions.
Social media allows you to connect with potential buyers where they are already spending time online. With a bit of planning, testing and consistency, you can build awareness for a new business through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Remember to engage authentically with your followers, analyze results and refine your approach over time as you seek to grow your reach each month through compelling, shareable content.
