 |
Social media marketing for a business or organization should start with clearly defined marketing goals. The different social media platforms can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be if we know what goals marketing should achieve. Digital content creation of a business will likely play a significant role in the ability to leverage social media engagement. Types of content used on social media platforms ranging from short text to visual media, such as graphics, photos, or video. Much of social media is about building a network of followers and friends. Social media marketing should leverage the engagement of those networks to drive goal completion.
Available Marketing Content
A steady stream of content should exist before committing to social media marketing. If a company creates expectations of a consistent flow of content, it will become important for the company to maintain those expectations to continue social engagement. Marketers must invest time in creating engaging content that meets the marketing goals. Existing website content can be used but should complement new content designed for social media. Clear calls-to-action will be essential to the social media mix and for the adjustment of content according to the social media platform.Features and demographics that exist on different types of social media platforms should be evaluated to determine the best for marketing goals. Facebook and YouTube are the most widely used social platforms among adults, while Instagram and Snapchat remain more popular for 18-24-year-old users (Smith & Anderson, 2018). YouTube is a popular social platform, but Facebook remains the most frequently used social media site.
Social Networking
Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+ are examples of social networking that allows individuals to engage and connect with others through a mix of digital content. The most notable and most significant social networking platform is Facebook. Facebook boasts the most significant number of users out of every social media platform. It is likely that a business may choose to focus solely on marketing on Facebook because of the greater potential customer reach. More than a quarter of the world’s population uses Facebook (Jolly, 2018). Facebook can serve targeted advertising according to the behavior, occupation, location, education, and other demographic factors. Use of Facebook Ads allows for targeting and retargeting of customers that have interacted with specific pages on a business’s website. Other social networking platforms have the same ability to focus but may not have the diverse segments that Facebook has. LinkedIn is most useful for use in B2B marketing or employee recruitment and has a higher potential of reaching and networking business professionals.Microblogging
Twitter and Tumbler are forms of microblogging that inform and entertain their audiences. Twitter is a leader in social media for its ability to share the latest breaking news headline. Microblogging benefits companies to easily reach fans. Most engagement on his type of platform will exist from those that are already familiar or current customers of a company. Advertising on Twitter can potentially reach a broader audience and can create greater engagement, from their different promoted trends that place branded hashtags in front of a selected audience. Microblogging social media is useful for creating and maintaining a fan base.Photo Sharing
Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest give users the ability to share their photos with friends and the world. The most widely used photo sharing platform is Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Instagram gives marketers the ability to use features of Facebook advertising to target users. Marketers must create images for brands that are visually appealing to solicit engagement from target audiences on Instagram. Snapchat is a fast-growing alternative to Instagram that generally reaches a younger demographic that many social media platforms lack. Another photo-sharing platform is Pinterest, which consists mainly of the sharing of images and websites that exist already on the internet. Pinterest consists mainly of female users; around 81% of all Pinterest users are female (Jolly, 2018). Ads and content on Pinterest may benefit a company that targets more of a female demographic.Video Sharing
Video sharing is the most popular and continues to gain popularity as a social platform. Much of video sharing is from extensions of other social media platforms. Facebook allows for video posts as well as live streaming on their platform using Facebook Live. Twitter also allows for the same type of video posts but has less adoption compared to Facebook. YouTube remains the most popular video sharing social media platform. Marketers can create content to foster engagement within YouTube by taking advantage of their multiple types of ads. YouTube allows for more traditional display advertising, either in the sidebar or small banners placed on the bottom of a video window. Additionally, YouTube allows video ads before other’s content and within their content like traditional television advertising.Which Social Media Platform?
The use of social media can be beneficial to target the exact audience that a company intends to reach. This type of targeting can help drive better marketing results compared to traditional marketing. When selecting the social media platforms to advertise on, it is essential to consider the audience that exists on each. How an audience engages with marketing messages can determine whether the content will be successful. Testing on these social media platforms can decide if the content or brand will drive engagement and conversions that align with marketing goals.Goals should be clearly defined a company can match their marketing content with specific social media platforms. If marketing goals can are accomplished with short messages and headlines, Twitter may be one choice for a company. If appealing and unique images are created for marketing, Instagram and Snapchat may be a clear choice if the target audience is a younger demographic. Short, engaging content in the form of videos may be best on YouTube. Facebook may be chosen for their better range of demographics, but a company may find that it is more beneficial to reach age groups that exist on other social media platforms. If the audience is there and the content is available that meets marketing goals a company can engage customers across multiple social media platforms.
References
Barnhart, B. (2017, November 28). How to Set up a Successful Twitter Advertising Campaign. Retrieved from Sprout Social: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-advertising/amp/Bernazzani, S. (2018, July 31). 13 of the Best Facebook Ad Examples That Actually Work (And Why). Retrieved from Hubspot: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33319/10-examples-of-facebook-ads-that-actually-work-and-why.aspx
Clark, J. (2018, January 30). A Guide To Effective Instagram Advertising For Small Businesses. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2018/01/30/a-guide-to-effective-instagram-advertising-for-small-businesses/amp/
Jolly, W. (2018). The 6 Most Effective Types of Social Media Advertising in 2018. Retrieved from Big Commerce: https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/social-media-advertising/#what-are-the-benefits-of-advertising-on-social-media-channels
Patel, N. (2017). 10 Pinterest Advertising Strategies You Should Be Using Today. Retrieved from Neil Patel: https://neilpatel.com/blog/10-pinterest-advertising-strategies-using-today/amp/
Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018, March 1). Social Media Use in 2018. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/
Kenneth, I'm so happy you talked about the content creation for social media platforms. I discussed this a bit in my post as well. I was mentioning that often times companies try to just create social media channels to create them and then use the same content on each which is not ideal and does not encourage engagement. I really appreciated your point about having the content BEFORE beginning the social media channel. This makes so much sense. You don't want to run out of content when you need to have a continuous stream going. It seems obvious, but I would guess that not everyone thinks about this before creating a new platform.
ReplyDeleteHi Kenneth! I agree with a lot of what you've said about social media. It's important to have that consistent flow of content planned out and use each platform for similar (and different purposes). I talk about this a little bit too on my post. Too many times, we are approached by clients who say "we want to get on Snapchat" or "we want to do Instagram" but they may not have the resources or assets to do it. Quality is always more important than quantity.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry...had a typo...
DeleteI do agree that knowing what you can accomplish on a social media platform and posting consistently are important. However - and fortunately - not all the platforms have the same rhythm. You need to know your bandwidth for creating content. I also agree that testing a platform – taking it for a trial run – can be important. If you try, and then depart, this also has to be well explained.