One problem that a lot of entrepreneurs face when they start a business is that they aren’t exactly trained marketers. And while social media marketing may seem simple on the outside, it’s usually anything but.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that it is at all difficult or impossible. On the contrary, once you have the basic principles and strategies down pat, the rest is just a matter of creating and publishing content. That’s why we’ve put together these 5 basics tips on how to jumpstart your social media marketing strategy.
I. Figure Out What You Want to Say
The internet is filled with an endless sea of noise and distractions. That’s why these days it’s not enough to just put stuff out there for the sake of creating noise around your business.
When it comes to marketing, the first and foremost thing that you want to get straight is your messaging.
Messaging matters because you don’t want just anyone purchasing and reviewing your products and services. Rather, you want the RIGHT people to give you their undivided care and attention. To do that you need to clarify your message and your purpose. And the best way to do that is by answering these invaluable questions:
- Who is it that you or your business serves?
- What is the biggest benefit that you can give your ideal customer?
- What sets you apart from the competition?
These three big questions are central to your entire marketing strategy. The clearer and more specific the answers you have for them, the more defined your marketing will be.
II. Choose a Primary and Secondary Platform to Market On
The tendency for some entrepreneurs and small businesses is to go wide and go fast when it comes to marketing. They create accounts for every single social media platform, hoping to reach as many people through as many channels as possible.
The problem with that, however, is that going too wide too fast can spell disaster for your social media marketing.
Rather, the best way to approach social media marketing (especially if you’re just starting out) is to choose one or two platforms that best-suit your business, product, and your ideal customer.
Each social media platform has a built-in medium and audience demographic. Your job is to determine which one your audience is on and which one best fits your personality and your business. The reason your personality is taken into account in this respect is because to a certain degree you want to be able to enjoy the creation of your content.
If you like writing, for example, the ideal platforms for you would be ones like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you or your audience enjoys video, photography, art, or anything picturesque, then the best platform to market your business, then, would be Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, or Pinterest.
Don’t try to spread yourself out too thin. Instead, magnify your focus on just one or two, and master those platforms before you expand your horizons.
III. Consistency is Your Number One Strategy
There are a myriad of strategies and tactics that many social media experts push for and propose. Many of them tend to differ in several aspects except one: consistency.
What does it mean to be consistent with your social media marketing?
Simply put, consistency means:
1. Post regularly
Whether that’s one, twice, thrice, or seven times a week is up to you. What matters most is that you’re consistently putting content out there for your audience to see.
2. Pick a theme
Find a look that speaks volumes about you, your brand, and your product and stick with it. Your branding has to be consistent if you want your audience to recognize you among the thousands of other users that they follow.
3. Focus on strategy, not tactics
The main difference between strategy and tactics is that strategy refers to your overall approach to solving a problem, whereas tactics refers to the smaller movements and tasks that contribute to your overall strategy.
When it comes to the basics of social media marketing, your number one strategy is simple: to be social and to provide value.
That means creating content that your audience will enjoy and benefit from. It also means engaging with your audience, responding to their messages and comments, and commenting yourself on the content that they post online.
The tactics for that can involve using certain techniques, tools and apps. But overall, your strategy remains the same.
To conclude, if you just follow these three main principles in all your social media marketing efforts, you’ll find that you and your business will be growing steadily. There are faster ways to grow on social media, no doubt, and having the help of an agency like ours has its benefits.
But if you’re just getting started, and you want to test the waters before diving in, just keep these three guiding principles to heart and you’ll have very little problems seeing your brand grow and eventually thrive.