The first step of a successful social media strategy is to clearly identify your target market. Doing this will allow you to tailor messages that drive results. Create demographic profiles that include information about your customers’ age, gender, income, education, occupation, family status and particular interests and preferences.
If your product/service appeals to many different groups of people, you’ll want to create several profiles. This information will help you target your campaigns to specific segments of your customer base.
Your business doesn’t have to be on every social media platform available, but it is important to know which ones fit your company best so you know what your efforts will be for each channel.
For example, Facebook is still the largest social media network and has members from almost every generation, but some demographics are more attracted to Facebook than others. If your target market is people who are middle-aged, then Facebook is a good fit for your brand because 63% of people aged 50-64, who use the internet, are on Facebook. If your product skews female, then Instagram (the fastest growing social channel) is probably best as IG users are 68% female and 64% of 18-29 year olds are on Instagram.
Gaining new followers is something to celebrate, but it’s also important to do everything in your power to keep the ones you have happy and engaged. Updating your social feeds once or twice a week isn’t enough to turn your followers into customers. Daily activity creates a more consistent experience for your followers while providing a rich and vivid story of your brand.
In addition to regular posts, it’s essential to like and reply to every message and comment as quickly as possible. When you do, your followers will be more likely to convert. Brands who use social media as a broadcast tool are missing out on the whole purpose and potential of social media, and are likely alienating customers by ignoring their attempts to connect and converse.
Customers feel valued when they are acknowledged by their favourite brand. In fact, 61% of users said they have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor digital customer experience.*
Asking happy, loyal customers to share their experiences with your brand and then sharing those experiences with your social audience will help turn followers into customers. Did you know that 76% of consumers find user-generated content more honest than other forms of ads? That’s reason enough to solicit and utilize user generated content, and think of the added value of having fresh content to distribute.
Pro Tip: Stay on top of posts in which you are tagged. Be sure to always like and comment on user-generated content and when possible, reshare it. It’s good practice to ask for permission before you share, and always credit photos appropriately. Encouraging your customers to talk about your product or service is a guaranteed way to build trust with your audience and increased trust means more sales!
Almost all major social media platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn, offer paid ads. Investing in social media advertising is an effective way to build a large, hyper-targeted following. You can use social ads to increase reach, content views, clicks, followers and engagement. The biggest advantage is the ability to get really specific with your demographic.
You can tailor different ads to unique audience groups with incredible precision, increasing the likelihood of acquiring ideal customers. You are also able to monitor the results of each ad campaign and then use those learnings in all forms of future marketing, both on that channel and off.
We live in a digital world and 55% of consumers now use social media for customer service.* This is a fact worth noting!
Outstanding customer service is often the deciding factor that sways consumers towards buying from one business over another. Quick replies over social channels that resolve customer queries will help increase trust and boost your reputation significantly. Providing excellent customer support on social media is an often untapped way to increase business through word-of-mouth marketing, and add to your already excellent reputation.
Do beware! Social channels are a very public place in which to fail at customer service, so have a policy in place to deal with issues and requests. Always make sure SOMEONE on your team is monitoring your account and any relevant hashtags.
By implementing these best practices, you’ll gain much more than a large number of followers, you’ll end up with more customers and more revenue to grow your business.
As professionals, we know that successful social media requires a thoughtful strategy and dedicated time. A dedicated social media manager will help manage your strategy, content, customer inquiries and engage with other members of your online community saving you a lot of time and effort. Give us a call at REES + STAGER to get started - 519-721-2248.
*State of Digital Customer Experience Report 2019
