by Written By: Rob Emmett
Without question, it’s safe to assume that social media has become the primary marketing medium used by organizations, both large and small, to help fulfill its marketing objectives. Especially when teamed with bots like an Instagram Bot for example. Whether it’s a Fortune 500 company serving the global market or a local sports team aiming to increase its fanbase, organizations are acknowledging the value that social media provides with achieving its digital marketing objectives. However, without a well-defined social media strategy that aligns with the social media marketing plan, organizations could be falling short on reaching its marketing potential, if you feel you business can still achieve more, start looking into marketing strategies from innovative companies like https://www.salesforce.com/products/guide/lead-gen/.
Creating a social media marketing strategy may seem overwhelming at first glance, but can actually be simpler than anticipated. Before an organization dives too deep into creating digital content and sharing media posts, it has to first identify its social media goals, who it’s seeking to target, and what it wants to achieve. According to a Buffer Marketing Library article, a simple method to create an effective social media marketing strategy is to ask yourself the 5W’s: Why do you want to be on social media? Who is your target audience? What are you going to share? Where are you going to share? When are you going to share?
An organization’s social media goals can include boosting brand engagement, growing revenue, or providing a better method of conversing with customers regarding the brand. This is why working with the right digital marketing company is so important. Bigger companies might be a better choice for bigger brands but if you are a local business you will see more benefits from a local digital marketing company helping you out. Working with marketing companies in Philadelphia will bring an insight into Philadelphia’s culture that will help you develop social media campaigns around what the young generation of Philadelphia wants to see from their content. As the world’s largest pizza provider, Domino’s has used social media to listen to its customer’s conversations and help identify weaknesses within its products and services with the help of local insight for more geotargeted campaigns, while also creating profitable resolutions to improve the company’s business operations. To communicate those improvements, Domino’s launched its “Oh Yes We Did” campaign and used its social media to further its position within the market. Not every organization will have the same objectives for its social media strategy, but each goal needs to be well-aligned with the company’s vision and messaging.
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After establishing a firm’s social media goals, organizations have to identify who its target audience is and how its followers engage with the brand. By identifying the target audience, companies can create content tailored to its followers and align its messaging with the audience’s interests. It’s so important for businesses to work out their target audience. By working out who they’re targeting, businesses are actually tribal marketing. This is a marketing strategy where a business will focus on a certain group of individuals that all share a similar interest, for example, students or people who love sports. As this business is using social media, it’s likely that they’re going to be targeting the younger generations. Once they know their target market, businesses can create content that their target market would be interested in. Knowing what they’re going to share is also critical for the direction brands want to take with their social media presence. Some brands will post content directly focused on its products and services, while others may share humorous content and photos that are not directly connected to the brand or its products. Burrow, a small startup couch provider, will post memes or funny photos on its Instagram page as a subtler way to engage with its followers.
Finally, an organization must determine where and when it’s going to share content. With so many different social media sources, it is vital for an organization to determine which platforms it wants to use and develop an implementation strategy for each one. Organizations must also identify the most beneficial time to post content and should establish a social media calendar to know when and where a post will be shared.
Social media has proven to be an effective method of marketing for organizations in a wide variety of industries, but without a well-defined social media strategy supported by the social media marketing plan, companies can lose out on the full potential that social media provides.
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Nice piece Rob. I agree that brands/ companies cannot be successful nowadays without the use of social media. In particular, they cannot be successful without the proper use of social media as a marketing tool. In creating content tailored to its target audience, companies need to ensure they are not sending mixed messages about brand identity/ core values. Benchmade knives just got into some trouble with members of its target market after helping the Oregon PD dispose of firearms. Although the company did not initiate the social media post (Oregon PD did as a thank you), they did incur some, albeit likely minimal, damage to brand equity from fervent 2nd Amendment supporters. Nice blog.
Rob, thank you for your insight to social media marketing. You’re absolutely right, most businesses will fail to reach the most success without a plan. I recently wrote a blog about social media in business, and wasn’t too surprised to know that 73% of Americans have a Facebook account alone. Using social media in business can be similar to how it’s used personally, but it most importantly uses strategy. Strategies navigate objectives. Objectives may be to gain more following, get more engagement from audiences, etc. I don’t think technology is anywhere near its end, and as it advances social media will continue to evolve. Businesses should really start implementing social media strategy to stay on top.
Hi Rob!
I completely agree that companies cannot be successful without a strong social media strategy in place. Gymshark (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45246999) owes their success to the use of a strong social media strategy that consists of a clear message, strong influencer identification, and specific products. Great post!
Great post Bob. It is obvious, as you point out, how important having a strong online presence in this ever connected world is. Social media strategy is paramount to success in the modern business world. Connection with fans, B2B stuff, and potential new consumers is key and a company can gain traction in all 3 segments with a little initiative.