Did you know that 90% of businesses in the US now use social media for marketing purposes?
That's right — and it means that creating a winning social media strategy is essential if you want to stand out from the crowd.
Luckily, we're here with eleven tips guaranteed to improve your social media presence, boost your engagement, and help you get results.
Ready for the social media marketing tips your competitor doesn't want you to hear? Read on to find out more.
1. Start Creating More Video Content
Video content has been on the rise for a while now, but it's just starting to take off on social media, so now is a great time to get in the game.
With new features like Instagram TV, creating short, engaging videos for your social media followers is an excellent way to stand out. You can also say much more than you can with simple images and text, helping you to connect with your audience.
Vertical video is a great area to focus on considering the current popularity of Snapchat and Instagram. Make clips short, snappy, and shareable for best results.
2. Answer Questions on Quora
Quora might not be the platform you typically think of when planning your social media strategy, but it's actually a valuable tool.
Quora lets you answer questions from users with the option to add links to your own site or social media profiles. Answering is a great way to cement yourself as an industry expert, connect organically with potential customers, and promote your brand.
Be sure to write high-quality, in-depth answers and go easy on the self-promotion, or you'll only look spammy.
3. Reach Out to Micro-Influencers
Forget celebrity influencers and start reaching out to ordinary social media users to promote your products. People are more likely to trust smaller accounts, and you'll save money.
Rather than paying users to promote your products, try to make genuine connections. Exchange messages, have real conversations, and look for users who share your values.
You can nurture these relationships so that they will continue to be valuable for years to come.
4. Live Stream to Your Followers
Live streaming hit the big time in 2019, and it's a great tool for promoting your brand.
If you're running an event, you could live stream to show it to users who can't be there physically. If you manufacture a product, you could share interesting behind-the-scenes clips from your factory.
Livestreams tend to be promoted heavily on social media, so running them regularly is a great way to keep customers thinking about you.
5. Adapt Your Marketing For Generation Z
Generation Z will account for 40% of users by 2020, so now is the time to start marketing to them.
Born after 1995, these users are even more tech-focused than millennials and spend more time on their phones than any other generation. That means that social media is probably the first place you'll reach them.
Focus on creating fun, engaging content, sharing testimonials from real users, and having genuine company values. This generation wants brands that are tech-savvy, ethical, and popular with their friends.
6. Use Social Media Management Tools
Starting to feel overwhelmed by all the things you need to do to be successful with social media?
Luckily, there are now plenty of powerful social media management tools available to help you. They allow you to schedule posts across all your platforms, run giveaways, analyze your engagement, and more.
They also make it easy for multiple members of staff to run your accounts which is ideal if your business is growing.
7. Focus on Genuine Interactions With Followers
Gone are the days when brands only posted a few ads on their social media pages and called it a day.
Now, you need to focus on genuine interaction. This could mean funny replies to tweets about your brand, friendly messages to engaged followers, or helpful answers to questions. Make people see your brand as a real person and not only a business.
8. Run Social Media Giveaways
Giveaways are an amazing way to generate hype and increase your follower count.
Put together a bundle of your best products, make a flashy giveaway post, and watch the likes roll in. For greater reach, ask people to share your post to enter.
Not only are you getting new followers, but you're also showing how desirable your products are, which is likely to lead to sales.
Giveaways are a great tool if you're starting a new business and want to gain followers fast.
9. Use Built-In Publishing Features
Are you still writing posts for your website's blog?
That's great, but it's time to think about using the built-in publishing features that many social media sites now offer.
Writing an article on LinkedIn or Facebook will have a much higher reach than a post that stays on your own site and you're likely to see much more engagement.
11. Create Stories and Story Ads
Stories are a great way to capture the immediacy of live streams without having to go live all the time.
Share short snippets of events, product launches, or anything else you think will interest your followers. Stories are right at the top of the page on most platforms, so people are more likely to view them than regular posts.
Use your story to countdown to big announcements, run quizzes, ask questions, and engage with followers in a fun, interactive way.
11. Make Use of Chatbots
When customers message brands on social media, they expect a speedy reply.
Worried that you can't afford to be online 24/7?
Luckily, sites like Facebook now allow you to set up 'instant replies' which can address popular queries. This means customers are never left waiting around.
For extra automation, link customers to a customer service chatbot on your website. Many customers prefer these tools to traditional customer service so you'll save time and keep them happy.
Why Use These Social Media Marketing Tips?
Social media marketing is time-consuming and expensive, so there's no point in using obsolete strategies.
Using the social media marketing tips above helps your brand stay relevant, which will increase customer confidence and boost engagement levels.
Ready to take your business to the next level? Get in touch for your free consultation today.