Are you part of a company that is wanting to utilize Social Media Marketing successfully? If so, your business is not alone. Social Media completely consumes today’s buyer market.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The term Social Media refers to, “Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” Social Networking is an excellent platform for Small Businesses. Nonetheless, it can be tricky to navigate all of the different marketing and advertising tools provided by online networks. Social Media giants like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat can be valuable resources to optimize your marketing mix. So how do you leverage brand awareness in between family photos and funny animal videos?  To answer this question, Kustura Technologies is sharing 5 Tips on how to master the art of Social Media Marketing.

#1 – STAY CONSISTENT (CONTENT)

First, it’s important to recognize that implementing a Social Media strategy can negatively impact your company if it’s not managed correctly.  One of the main aspects that can contribute to a poor reputation is the frequency of your posts. When prospective users search out your company, make sure there is quality content available, and PLENTY of it. Your company can manually post, or use third-party applications to help you manage multiple accounts. Here is an example of some of today’s most popular Social Media Management Apps (Forbes):

• HootSuite
• Hubspot
• TweetDeck
• IFTTT

Kustura Technologies recommends scheduling daily or weekly posts, depending on your overall marketing goals. This concept of Consistent Posting has enormous benefits. The most noteworthy is that it helps keep your brand relevant.

#2 – BE CREATIVE (CONTENT)

Tip #2 may seem a little obvious, but it’s not. When businesses first get involved in Social Media, it’s common to cross post. The phrase “cross post” refers to a company that posts the same message on every Social Media Account. (Every business has been guilty of this – including us!) While doing this does help keep your message clear, it also makes it less engaging.  According to Hootsuite, “Crafting unique messages might sound like a lot of work, but you don’t need to start from scratch every time. Even small tweaks make a difference, and show that you’re paying attention.”

The last two words are what Small Business Owners need to focus on, paying attention. It’s okay to post similar messages, but do your best to get creative and pay attention to what is working. Paying attention on Social Media makes all of the difference. When we refer to this, we are talking about reading the responses your customers have on your posts. Actively paying attention can lead to your company altering its marketing campaign or engaging with customers more through comments or reactions. In fact, Research supports this by showing 71% of consumers who had a positive experience with a brand on Social Media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family. Social Media Marketing is one of the only marketing strategies available where you can connect with your customers 24/7.

#3 – BE TRANSPARENT (CUSTOMER SERVICE)

Statistics show that 59% of Americans with Social Media accounts believe that Social Media has made customer service easier. This is why Tip #3 is to be authentic. Online Customer Service is a niche where Small Businesses can shine compared to larger companies.

Every business has its fair share of unhappy customers. Before Social Media, your company may have received a complaint. If you disagreed with it, your company could easily ignore it. However, on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, negative reviews and comments are there for everyone to see. (Here are some examples of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Customer Service on Social Media) Most of the time, potential customers won’t care about the negative comments. Instead, they will focus on two things.

1. Did your company take the time to respond to this negative comment?
2. What was the response to this negative comment?

If your company is at fault, admit it and find a way to make it right. If you know 100% that your company didn’t do anything wrong, be polite and ask to contact the person directly via phone or in person. Overall, being transparent is the best way to address these situations.

#4 – MAKE IT FUN (CUSTOMER SERVICE)

The best way to understand Tip #4 is to look up Wendy’s amazing Twitter Marketing. The food and beverage company gained thousands of Twitter followers after “roasting” other popular food chains on the Social Media platform. This wasn’t on accident either; they wanted to attract Millennials. Wendy’s tweets were so funny that other industries started copying their “roasting” strategy of the now famous Twitter War.

Now, Kustura Technologies is NOT saying your company should do this. What we are recommending is to have fun with your Social Media accounts. Customers and prospective customers are more likely to follow your company if it has a fun reputation.

While we don’t believe Wendy’s strategy will work for everyone, it is essential for your business to find different ways to interact with its customers online. Our favorite is having contests. This is a great way to communicate and interact with customers across Social Media. For example, when Kustura Technologies released its new website last year – we created an online scavenger hunt. We used this as an incentive for our Peace of Mind Plan Customers and offered a reward for whoever could find the 5 Kustura Trophies hiding across the website. What did we accomplish with this game?

1. We encouraged our customers to visit the site in a fun and engaging way
2. Our traffic increased as others wanted to participate in the search
3. Kustura Technologies was able to connect with our customers on a new level

Some other great ideas to interact with your customers are creating giveaways, developing polls, taking advantage of live videos, and offering free informative guides. Studies even show that customers report spending 20% to 40% more money on brands that have interacted with them on Social Media. You can check out Lyfe Marketing for more exciting ideas on fun Social Media Marketing ideas. No matter what your company does, remember to interact with your customers and have fun!

#5 – TRUST THE ANALYTICS

Digital Analytics refers to the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from your business and the competition to drive a continual improvement of the online experience that your customers and potential customers have which translates to your desired outcomes (both online and offline). In other words, it’s the digital information behind everything you post on Social Media. The most popular way to track this data is through Google Analytics. Please refer to this link for instructions on how to set up Google Analytics.

Google Analytics can give your company critical insights as to what advertising message is working the best, what is driving the most traffic to your website, and so much more. Once you review and learn about Google Analytics, Tip #5 will be very important. The primary goal of reviewing analytics data (also known as Digital Marketing) is to promote continuous development. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) also plays a significant role with Google Analytics. To learn more about SEO, visit our Web Design and Internet Marketing blog. Primarily, the data Google provides will help determine what content your company needs to be posting based on the findings of current postings. It will show your company what works and what doesn’t work.  Even if your team feels it created a successful ad campaign… if the numbers do not support it – regroup and promote something different.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AT A GLANCE

Kustura Technologies understands the importance of connecting with consumers through Social Media. We are confident that these 5 Tips will help your company master the art of Social Media in no time. It can seem very overwhelming if your company is just getting started. So, if you’re a feeling a bit anxious getting started with Social Media Marketing, that’s okay.  Luckily in today’s digital world, you have a few options for managing it:

1. Hire someone within the company to handle it
2. Try to maintain it on your own as the business owner
3. Hire a third-party company to manage it for you

Whichever solution you choose, remember Kustura’s 5 Tips as you get started. Keep your focus on creative content, positive interactions via customer service, and trust the analytics. Mastering those three areas of Social Media Marketing will get your company moving on the right track. So what is the next step? Your company is implementing this innovative marketing strategy. It can be a game changer for your business, so let us know in the comments which of our 5 Tips worked the best for you!