Many claim to be social media expert these days and you’ll never be short on advice for what do when it comes to social. There’s plenty of great material out there, but there’s also a lot of fluff that tries to make you feel as if you need to employ a data scientist, a marketing professional or any other yoda like character to make sense of it all.
Therefore, we’ve decided to write a very simple blog aimed at getting grips with the basics. Not always a fashionable thing to do, but in any field, across any industry if you get the basics right history would suggest that you won’t go too far wrong.
So, here it is our back to basics guide for social media marketing – and the beauty is you should be able to crack on with most of these yourself.
Set targets: compare your performance to peers
You need to set yourself goals and benchmark what “good” looks like. You can do this by researching what your closest competitors are doing and seeing how you compare e.g. do they have more engagement? More followers? Set clear goals for what you want social to help you achieve.
Understand which of your topics draw most attention
Look at what content and campaigns have been the most successful for driving awareness and engagement for your brands and your competitors. Look for trends in what people interact with.
Join the conversation
Don’t be afraid to join in across multiple platforms, wherever your customers are you should be. Say hello, ask questions, post things that interest you and you think will interest your target audience. Express yourself and try to stay true to your brand values.
Make sure you use the best #’s, posts, and channels
When you post and run campaigns make sure you are using the most effective channels and content for your target audience. You can A/B test this or check the success of previous campaigns for your brand and your competitors. Don’t reinvent the wheel, if your target audience is more likely to engage with e.g. a certain medium or # then use it.
Connect with your best fans
Social gives you the opportunity to build relationships with your customers, don’t waste the opportunity. Say hello, ask them their opinions and thank them for your support. You can prime a whole army of marketers for your brand if you can successfully turn your customers into brand ambassadors. A small investment here can equal a huge return later on
Find and engage the influencers
These are the market makers, the people who shape what brands rise and what brands fall. Get them on your side and ride the wave of increased brand awareness and affinity. Takes a little research but there are tools that can help you.
Stay on top of trending topics, at all times
Social moves fast. The conversation never stops, opportunities are here one moment and gone the next. Try to “trend jack” and get involved in topics and stories that are trending in order to get your brand more publicity and engagement.
Measure, learn, iterate
Always stay focused on working towards your goals, whatever they may be. Measure your success and failures, take the good and remove the bad, keep iterating and improving until you achieve your target.
Final words
Social a mix of science and art, you will have to keep tweaking the formula until you get the results that are right for you.
However, get the basics right and approach it in a logical manner and there is no reason why it can’t become your most potent ally.
About Sociolus
Sociolus is a social media management platform that helps brands compare their performance, monitor their customers, market and trends and identify and engage with most influential people.
For more info or a free trial please visit www.coreconcepts.design or email
