Social media has emerged as one of the pillars of digital marketing. Beyond just getting you “likes”, “comments” and “follows”, it enables you to build brand awareness and credibility.
Achieving the desired growth on social media is, however, easier said than done. Unless you have a good strategy in place, you cannot expect to strengthen your social presence.
If you don’t have a plan ready for winning the social media, now is the time to get started. On the other hand, you need to have a second look at your existing strategy if you already have one.
Though there are huge opportunities out there, you must do things right to leverage them. The idea is to build a strategy that drives engagement, growth and brand awareness.
You have to think beyond just posting and sharing content regularly for connecting with the audience. An out-of-the-box approach can get you the results that you want. Shane Barker lists Twesocial as his number 1 recommendation to get more Twitter followers. Click here to read more.
Here is a list of social media marketing tactics that you should implement for making your plan successful
Tactic #1: Pay attention to content formatting
Good content is the foundation of a successful social media presence. It always has been and always will be. But you need to get the audience read it in the first place.
And if you are posting long-form content as Google wants you to, getting the viewers to read it can be a challenge. The best way to do it is by being particular about content formatting. Keep the sentences short for text-based content and even the posts and YouTube descriptions.
Shorter paragraphs are great because they make the content more readable. The audience is more likely to pay attention to bite-sized chunks rather than a full block of text.
Short paragraphs keep them engaged for longer and even get them to reach the end of the published article. Similarly, short social media posts are more likely to drive action from the readers in the form of clicks.
Tactic #2: Post diversified content
When it comes to social media marketing, posting diversified content is a winning approach. You may be used to the ideas of posting short tweets on Twitter, pictures on Instagram and so on.
But platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn give you much scope for innovation. You can think diverse and come up with content in the form of blog posts, pictures, videos, info-graphics and more.
Diversity drives audience engagement. It is natural for them to get bored seeing similar posts on social media.
So you can get smart and start churning out diverse content types. While you do so, make sure that you follow the basics.
Primarily, you should tailor every single piece of content you publish for the target audience. Secondly, make the posts informative, interesting and valuable.
Tactic #3: Be active and post repeatedly
You will be surprised that the first 24 hours is the critical period for getting traffic. Since the content is fresh, people are more likely to get curious and click to read it.
Promoting your content during this time frame can give you the winning advantage. In fact, you can actually double your traffic if you do it properly. Right after you publish a content piece, share it across all your social networks. Do it once or twice again within the first 24 hours.
However, you have to be careful about not sounding spammy. Change up your messaging every time you share the post subsequently. Also, you must keep the engagement genuine rather than getting fake likes and shares.
Time frame is all the more important for YouTube videos. This is because their ranking depends on the number of views they receive on the first day after uploading them.
Tactic #4: Repurpose your content
Another smart move to make your social media marketing plan a success is by repurposing your content. Think how long it would take to reformat each piece of content for different channels.
Repurposing is the better option as you only need to tweak the existing content to make it work in different formats. For example, you can chop a YouTube video into 60-second Instagram videos. Similarly, it is easy to repurpose a blog post and present it in the form of an infographic.
When you repurpose content, format it natively for the specific platform where you are planning to post. Simply speaking, turn it into a format that works for that particular platform.
However, make sure that it appears organic. Also, put your efforts for repurposing only the best content pieces that have the potential to drive engagement.
Tactic #5: Focus on the right channels
While content is a critical element for a successful social media strategy, focusing on the right channels is equally important. You need to start by identifying the channels that your target audience uses frequently.
Accordingly, you can come up with a mix that you should target aggressively for an extensive reach. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube are some of the main platforms. The choice of the channels you should use depends on the nature of your business.
For example, Instagram and Pinterest are the best options for a fashion brand to connect with the target audience. According to Kevin Buckley from Falcon Digital Marketing (https://www.falcondigitalmarketing.com/), Instagram marketing is critical in increasing profits.
This social media channel has millions of followers and gives you immense exposure. Since Instagram uses visual media, the posts are more impactful as well.
Tactic #6: Be selective about the topics
The right channels get you connected with the target audience. The best content helps you engage with them. But you have to think beyond! What about the trending topics for your social posts?
The audience is more likely to click and read through topics that are in trend. Wouldn’t it better to focus your energy on only these? The best approach is to be selective about the topics you cover in your campaign.
If you are active on social media, you will surely know about the topics that are in vogue. However, it is better to take a more validated approach.
You can use analytics to identify such subjects and create content around them. Also, you can discover the earlier posts that have good engagement rates and re-share them. Give your audience what they are looking for and you will definitely win.
Tactic #7: Take a humanized approach
The objective of any digital marketing strategy is to sell and build your brand. Social media marketing is no exception. But you need to take a more humanized approach to extend your reach via social media.
The idea is to present your brand in a humanized way so that users feel an emotional connection. Write posts for engaging rather than just selling your brand.
Be active in terms of establishing and strengthening connections with the audience. Being regular with compelling social posts is half the work done.
Interact with the followers by responding actively to their comments. Encourage them to share content because user-generated content has come ahead as a winner today. This will give the audience the impression that they are interacting with a human rather than a brand.
Tactic #8: Build a community
Building a community with your audience is the next step after humanizing your brand. Increasing the number of your followers is one aspect of creating a successful social media strategy.
However, it is just a means and not an end. You need to show them that they really matter. You can do this by building a community that acts as a platform where they can interact with each other and your brand.
Beyond just building a community of followers, encourage them to communicate and interact with each other. Spark conversations, ask questions and gather their opinions.
A community can also serve as a powerful branding tool for your business as it boosts your visibility online. Further, its members can act as loyalists and bring in new members to join your brand.
Tactic #9: Leverage chatbots
While human interactions are valuable, you should not miss on the latest technologies. Chatbots have made a grand entry on the social media landscape and not using them can leave you behind.
These smart bots are capable of starting conversations, answering questions and even selling. They also extend personalized customer service and support, which build trust in your brand.
Integration of chatbots within your social media strategy gives you a winning advantage. They help you to always be connected with the audience without the need for human intervention.
Additionally, these advanced virtual assistants can understand what the audience really wants. They even gather rich data that you can use to gain insights about your audience.
The key takeaway here is that you need to think beyond the conventional tactics for driving social media success. Of course, you should stick to quality content that motivates the users to click.
Keep a close eye on your target audience and give them exactly what they want and need. At the same time, be willing to evolve and explore new avenues of growth and engagement.
An ideal marketing mix combines old-school tactics with innovative ideas. If you are willing and able to embrace this approach, you will surely win!
