When it comes to attracting new business, social media is the channel of online marketing that many leaders and managers turn to. But are they doing this effectively?
The emergence of social media has changed the way in which we advertise, especially as it is free to use and billions of the world population are active on it every minute of the day. Many people see this number of users and instantly expect to see results when posting online. Unfortunately, this is not the case. You must position yourself and your business in front of the right audience members at the right time, its not as easy as posting freely then watching the sales/calls come in!
Whatever your reasons for wanting to start a social media campaign, to be successful you must start by identifying specific campaign goals and identifying what you are looking to gain as an outcome. Some examples of specific campaign goals may include:
- Heighten brand awareness
- Increase website traffic
- Generate new customers
- Boost sales and revenue
- Inspire customer engagement
- Build or strengthen your brand’s community
- Get customer feedback
After you have decided the goals of your campaign, you need to then decipher what channels you are going to use. You probably already have a good sense of where to reach your target audience and loyal brand followers, and which social media channels will help you reach your goals. If you do, turn to those channels. Also consider branching out, especially since it doesn’t cost anything to post on multiple platforms. We would recommend Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and GMB (Google My Business) as the 4 key channels to target and post on.
Top tip: If you are looking to post imagery as the main source of your campaign, then Instagram will be your best friend.
The next step to consider would be the structure of which you post your content. Posting can be done at any time of the day, but it is important to understand the best times that your audience will be active. For instance, for parents/consumer buyers, lunch time (between 12-1) and post 5 o’clock will be the best times suited for them. You must ALWAYS consider the habits of your buyers. If you don’t have a well-established social media presence or need guidance to understand the benefits of one platform over another, you can contact us to start your social media journey today.
When you hear the term campaign, this might be overwhelming, as you might think you must be putting content out daily in order for it to be effective. Again, ignore this advice that you might see elsewhere. Me and you are also consumers of online marketing. If we see a company that is repetitive in their posting, or post daily, it won’t be long till you are sick of the sight of them. By releasing your content at effective time throughout the week, you are much more likely to see results. An example structure might look like this.
- MONDAY: NO POST
- TUESDAY: POST AT 5:30PM
- WEDNESDAY: STORY TO REMIND PEOPLE OF POST
- THURSDAY: POST AT 12:30PM
- FRIDAY: STORY TO REMIND PEOPLE OF POST
- SATURDAY: NO POST
- SUNDAY: POST AT 10AM
In this case, 3 posts a week alongside stories throughout is an effective approach to take, as this is plenty of content for the consumer to digest without forcing your products and services on them. Stories are also skippable, and people will choose to view them, they are not forced.
Here at Dynamic, we have assisted in helping many local and national companies with their social media campaigns, taking their content and production to the next level. If you are looking for more information surrounding this particular service, do not hesitate to get in contact with us today.