The rise of social media has been one of the more significant socio-economic phenomena of the past decade. Its influence crosses all economic and cultural boundaries, reaching nearly every business and household on the planet. Harnessing the marketing power of social media may seem simple, but merely posting pictures of your product or services and counting “likes” will not keep your business competitive.
Unfortunately, many business owners are using social media in precisely this way. This myopic view fuels the misconception that the way you communicate with your clients and the way you interact with your friends is the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. If this is you, you are missing out on an incredible marketing opportunity that is both cost effective and easy to maintain.
One example that is both misunderstood and underused is Facebook Business Manager. This social media business application allows you to segment your audience, including past, present and future clients, by social and economic demographics, as well as by geographic location. Using these specific targeting criteria makes the most of your messaging strategy and is more likely to trigger a positive response.
Masterpiece Marketing has found great success for client by using the segmenting tools for advertisement available best on social media. Integration of your social media across traditional platforms allows better branding and more engagement from your target. A campaign to gather digital contact information provided by users who “like” content and request more information can be a goldmine. A strategy to make regular, consistent, relevant contact will move them through the funnel from lead to prospect to client.
Also, the use of professionally developed Search Engine Optimization content for your social media messaging harnesses the full power that modern search engine algorithms provide, thus solidifying both your brand validity and integrity.
The use of different social media platforms in concert with each other will maximize the number of brand impressions you receive while increasing the reliability of your metadata. A prime example of this is how LinkedIn and YouTube currently partner exceptionally well to use message specific and brand tutorial video for business to business marketing.
Another way to use social media effectively is to craft specialized content to reconnect with those whom you have already done business: sharing their testimonials and stories. Demonstrating you value your relationship with past clients will not only solidify your brand message but will also energize and expand both your current and potential client base. This will keep your stakeholders well-informed and allow you to use their experience with your brand in e-mails, brochures or even video to maximize the effectiveness of your entire marketing mix. If your organization is nonprofit, sharing stories should trump repeated requests for money which get tuned out quickly.
Each platform requires a specific approach and specialized content to be effective. They also reach different audiences for different reasons. Therefore, you must take great care to ensure that you are selecting the most appropriate social media platforms for your business.
How you choose to utilize the immense messaging potential of social media will have a profound impact on the success or failure of your overall marketing strategy, regardless of what business you own. You must master the subtle nuances that are required to keep your content unique and fresh while staying loyal to the mission that is at the heart of your brand.
If you are interested in developing a marketing strategy that works harder and smarter for you, please reach out to the professionals here at Masterpiece Marketing.