Are you drawn to using the power of social media for your business?
Do you love its heady elixir of word-of-mouth marketing and burgeoning audiences?
But also hate how you can never quite figure out how to get your best messaging to just the right audience – your potential customers?
You are not alone. It’s tough out there. We know just how you feel.
But don’t give up. Pursuing a positive relationship with social media marketing could be a game-changer for your business this year.
Kepios analysis says that as of January 2022 over 58% of the world’s population uses social media. That’s over 4 billion people.
Don’t let your love/hate relationship with social media platforms hold you back from connecting with your own unique audience.
According to a 2021 HubSpot blog poll, more than 50% of marketers plan on increasing their investments in Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok in 2022. Now is the time to embrace a new marketing strategy and connect with new customers.
With a few helpful tips, you can skip all the hating and leap into a love relationship with social media marketing – it’s possible!
How do I love/hate thee? Let me count the ways…
So, what is it that makes connecting with your audience via social media feel as elusive as a unicorn sighting?
The moments that you do connect are magical – sales rolling in, effusive likes and shares, viral marketing at its best.
But then there are those posts that just don’t land for whatever reason.
(Is it grainy graphics? Do I have poor messaging? Am I posting at the wrong time?)
You get no response. Cue the crickets.
But maybe you are just asking the wrong questions.
3 Questions to Help You Define Your Social Media Strategy
Figuring out how to navigate social media for your business can be confusing at the best of times.
But here are three key questions that can help you navigate the ever-changing social media landscape:
- Which platforms fit your brand?
- How can you build your community?
- How often should you connect with your customers?
Which Platforms Fit Your Brand?
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn–where do you fit? And what fits you? Determining the right platforms for your message depends on one thing:
Who is your audience?
When you know who is buying what you are selling, you can laser-focus in on your ideal customer’s chosen platform.
If you are selling footwear to teenagers, you will want to find yourself on TikTok and Instagram, using stylish, unique images and short-form videos.
41% of TikTok’s 689 million global users are between the ages of 16-24. Connecting with influencers to sell your sneakers can ramp up your sales even more. As of 2020, TikTok had 106,000 influencers worldwide using their handles to recommend products.
If you are selling B2B, LinkedIn is your space. The stats are in. HubSpot says, “over 46% of all social media traffic to company websites comes from LinkedIn.” In its curated list of essential stats, Business Insider shared that LinkedIn is the “#1 most trusted social media platform for the third year in a row.”
If your business is selling to businesses, your marketing dollars and strategy need to focus on community outreach in this space. You can engage your customers with carousel ads, curated videos, and case studies-all options that CCB would love to help you brainstorm about.
You can use this content to build out your bigger and brighter social media community.
How Can I Build My Community?
Engagement. Engagement. Engagement.
When it comes to social media, you have probably heard this word a million times. Now, it’s a million and one.
Forbes says that growing a social media community requires building trust, listening to your customers, and being relatable.
The thing about engagement is that it is not about you, it is all about your audience. What are their wants and needs?
How are you meeting those wants and needs?
Dove has gone above and beyond in connecting with their audience using a cannon of heartfelt videos on their YouTube channel, Dove US. With each video, you are struck by the unique, personal beauty of each girl, of each woman, who shares their story.
Dove has figured out how to engage with their customers. They aren’t just selling bars of soap or beauty products. They have homed in on what their customers, women, are truly longing for: self-esteem.
Just try and watch one of their videos and not blink back a few tears. Dove has figured out how to use YouTube to reveal the beating heart of their company–by engaging with the hearts of its customers. They see them. They hear them. They are meeting that need.
Not only is Dove using their brand to connect with women’s issues, Dove has become their advocates. They are using their influence for good and inviting their customers to join them. That is truly engaging.
As with any relationship, the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. With every heart-warming video, funny meme, or lead gen quiz you share, you are building out your customer relationship and nurturing trust.
The next step to embracing a winning social media strategy is figuring out how often you should connect with your audience. The answer might surprise you.
How Often Should I Connect with My Community?
It’s different for every business. You want to stay connected, but you don’t want your customers to grow tired of your endless tweets or Instagram reels.
How do you navigate the line between engaging and annoying?
Once again, lean into your online community for your answer to this question. We recommend the following posting schedules for your chosen platforms:
- On Instagram, post between 1-2 times per day.
- On Facebook, post between 3-7 times a per week.
- On Twitter, post between 1-5 Tweets a day.
- On LinkedIn, post between 3-5 times per week.
- On TikTok, post 3-7 videos per week.
- On YouTube, keep it consistent no matter what your posting schedule.
Once you lock in how many times you want to post each week, don’t be afraid to dive in a little deeper with analytics. Customize your content calendar with your findings.
Your community will speak to you with their likes and shares.
You can see how they interact, when they tune out, how many posts they respond to, and their peak hours of engagement. Use this information and adjust your posts accordingly.
Tweak your strategy. Listen to your customers. And be consistent.
We advise consistency over frequency. Once you have determined the amount of content that you want to post each week, be reliable. Your audience wants to know when you will have new content available. Make it easy for them.
CCB can help you create a content calendar that is filled with reliable, fun content on a regular basis. It’s what we love to do.
We Heart You, Social Media
Now that you know the 3 defining questions for curating your customized social media strategy, don’t you feel so much better? We do too.
This is your year for embracing social media in a way that will connect you with your audience, increase your revenue, and build out your business. CCB would love to partner with you in answering these strategic questions.
Connect with us and let’s get started today!