Social Media Marketing: 8 Tips for Top Results
Today it seems every brand along with every person on this planet frequents social media on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. As we scroll through social media on our phones and computers, we are bombarded with influencers selling the next best thing and brands who have built their empire from the ground up using primarily social media platforms. Seems easy right? Not so much. Creating a powerful social media presence takes time and requires some serious planning. So how do you execute a social media marketing strategy that connects you with customers and boosts your brand?
We have put together 8 social media marketing tips for brands and influencers (because you are your own brand too) to get started and continue growing your brand, whether you are a large corporation or an individual just starting to try and create your own brand.
Social Media Marketing Tip #1: Find The Right Platforms for Your Brand
Finding the right social media platforms for your brand is the first step in building a strong social media marketing strategy. Not every social media platform is made for every brand. For example, some brands will do very good on TikTok and not on LinkedIn, and vice versa. It is imperative that you research what platforms your target audience is on, and create a strong presence on those specific platforms. Having many followers on a platform means nothing if those followers aren’t engaged with your content and don’t convert. Here are a list of a few popular social media platforms and an overview of each:
Twitter: Twitter only allows 280 characters per post, but offers up a huge, diverse audience. The limited characters are usually the biggest challenge when trying to get lots of information out to your following. However, twitter is great for the sharing of concise information. By using the retweet feature, people can share your post in a matter of seconds. Once someone retweets your post, all of their followers will have a chance to interact with it – Thus being a very efficient way to increase brand popularity, especially when you add a little humor into the mix. On Twitter, it is easy for a post to gain traction with your followers, and in the right circumstances, can go viral.
Facebook: Facebook allows you to gain access to a huge and diverse audience of users, and recent updates to the platform have modernized it and given it some hope to maintain its popularity. Facebook groups for like minded people are very popular and sometimes can hold hundreds of thousands of members. Another reason Facebook is important is that it connects with other social platforms like Instagram, and can be used to sign in to many different websites not affiliated with it, making it a platform that users are heavily integrated with.
Instagram: Instagram is purely visual, allowing pictures and videos to run the show. This platform is great for reaching past, present, and future customers, as well as show off your products visually. Instagram allows for a 24-hour “story” where you can post more time-sensitive material, run give-aways, or offer promotions for a limited time. Most recently, they added a “shopping cart” option, so users can purchase items for sale right through the app instead of leaving Instagram to do so.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is great for business to business communication. The typical user on LinkedIn is an individual who is in the workforce, looking to grow their connections with other working people. LinkedIn is the world’s most extensive professional network, with more than 610 million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. (medium) It’s the perfect place to post company success stories, showcase your knowledge in a particular industry, source and speak with top talent, and make connections with some pretty intelligent people.
TikTok: This platform is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the industry. Tik Tok focuses specifically on short videos, dancing, and humor. It has been rumored that a few very young TikTok influencers are making millions of dollars just this year alone through TikTok influencer marketing and other brand partnership opportunities. Roughly 50% of TikTok’s demographics are under the age of 34 years old(Omnicoreagency), making it not only the newest social media platform to go mainstream, but also the one with the youngest average user.
Tip #2: Create Brand Recognition
Creating a brand that people recognize is one of the most important factors in social media marketing. Consumers generally buy name brands for a few reasons. According to Chron, the first reason people buy brands that others know is purely to fit in. Having a well known brand such as a Gucci purse, makes people believe it will contribute to a greater social acceptance. Another reason people purchase name brands is for the “Confidence in Experience.” Confidence in Experience means that recognized brand names typically are consistent in their product quality, customer service, and legitimacy; giving the consumer a sense of trust and assurance that what they think they are purchasing, is what they will receive.
Tip #3: Engage And Build Trust With Followers
Engaging with your followers on social media could be the difference between selling your product and not selling your product. It’s a proven fact that people like to feel as though they are interacting with another human being when they have questions or concerns. For an influencer, answering questions that your followers have about specific products you are sponsoring or services you recommend proves that you are actually using the product and are knowledgeable about it. Responding to comments or messages increases the likelihood that your followers will continue to comment and engage with your posts. For brands, when someone reaches out with a shipping problem, or a product question, answering in a timely manner on social media is a great way to build trust, as well as confirm the sale. When someone has a hesitation about purchasing a product, great customer service could very well be the reason someone decides to pull the trigger.
Tip #4: Create Consistent Visuals
In any marketing plan, creating a consistent color scheme and consistent branding across all digital channels is important. This helps with brand recognition, as well as brand authenticity and consumer trust.
Some of the biggest brands in the world are immediately identifiable by color association alone. Think Starbucks green or Tiffany’s blue. (social media today)
When we look at a well known brand such as Starbucks, we can all recognize their logo, and the green color that is prominently displayed on all advertisements and stores across the country. In your social media marketing strategy, aim to choose a logo or a color scheme that you can replicate across all channels, and make recognizable to your customers.
Tip #5: Use Social Media Marketing to Tell a Story
When we are talking about social media marketing, we emphasize telling a story. Telling a story is not only important for influencers, it’s also important for brands. For an influencer, telling a story about your life that others can relate to is key to growing your following. For brands, the story might be different. “The Story” of a brand could be the journey to starting the company, the social causes that your brand is passionate about, as well as the injustices the brand aims to solve. This can draw users to your brand because of shared passions, or just pure respect in the goal to make a positive impact in the world. A great example of this would be a climate friendly product, or shipping material.
Tip #6: Look at the Insights
Looking at social media insights is key to understanding what is working in your social media marketing strategy, and what is not. Social media marketing is extremely competitive, so it’s essential to track your results, and make sure that you are reaching the correct people with the correct products. There are many different insights that can be helpful to find this out, one of which is interactions. This set of insights measures the actions people take when they engage with your account. That could mean profile visits, or website clicks. Another strong insight to look at is Reach. This insight shows you how many people saw your post and usually it goes into depth about where those people came from. For example, on Instagram, you can use hashtags to reach more people who do not follow you yet. The goal of that is to find people who would be interested in your brand and essentially shop with you or become loyal to what you have to offer.
Tip #7: Be Authentic When Building Your Social Media Marketing Plan
One of the most important factors in creating a successful social media presence is to be authentic. Whether you are an influencer, or you are a brand, the goal is to offer something that people can trust is true. Authenticity is one of the most important ways to reach that goal. One of my favorite influencers is Dana Mercer, on Instagram. She is an ex-editor in chief of Women’s Health and is now a journalist at CNN and Cosmo. Dana Mercer’s goal is to remind everyone to love their bodies – imperfections and all. Most of her posts consist of her showing how she would pose for a photo to look thinner, and then she shows what she really looks like when she isn’t posing. She is real and raw, and 100% authentic. This has paid off considering she has over 2 million followers.
Tip #8: Work with an Influencer or Partner with a Brand
In a world where everyone frequents social media at an alarming rate, both influencers and brands can benefit from brand partnerships and influencer marketing. At InfluenceLogic, we strive to make influencer marketing easier through performance based marketing. In the performance marketing model, brands pay creators and publishers for specific actions like new customers or leads. Our partnership model is effective for the following reasons:
- Alignment – Aligned incentives create extraordinary results for both creators and brands
- Unlimited Revenue – Performance partnerships are uncapped without limits on scale and revenues
- Widely Accessible – This model removes friction that prevents great partnerships
If you are an influencer and looking to increase your revenue potential through performance based partnerships you can apply here:
If you are a brand and looking to either rapidly grow your influencer marketing strategy or looking for help on just getting started you can learn more here:
Building a strong social media marketing strategy takes time, effort, and consistency. If you can focus on finding the right platforms that will work best for your brand, create powerful brand recognition, analyze the insights of social media campaigns effectively, and stay consistently authentic you will be a powerhouse in the social media marketing industry.
