HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN 2024
INTRODUCTION
Social Media Marketing has become an essential part of businesses today both large and small. There are 4.9 billion users of social media today, that’s more than half of the world’s population because of that Social Media has because the most dominant part of the internet today. What’s more? This is just the beginning, a report created in 2023 called “The Impact Of Social Media On Brand Awareness We Are Social and Hootsuite” highlighted that 91% of consumers globally now use social media making it the most powerful tool for reaching a broad audience. The report also stated that brand awareness is the top goal in social media marketing for 87% of marketers which shows the effectiveness of it in achieving this goal.
This blog post is targeted for business owners and marketers looking for effective methods to market on social media.
As we progress we will cover the key areas required to achieve social media success which include selecting a platform to build on, content creation strategy, engagement techniques and success measurement as you build on.
UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE IN 2024
MAJOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:
Facebook: Facebook is the real OG of social media while it might not be the oldest social media platform, you can’t argue with the evergreen success Facebook has earned itself. A platform created since 2006 and has since then amassed a total of 2.9 billion monthly users. Because of its large demographic structure it caters to people across all ages, gender. It’s best used for sharing long form content, community discussions or news casting.
Instagram: Since it’s ownership was handed to Meta, Instagram has created new systems for its 1.4 billion monthly users to be able to create content. These new systems include reels, stories etc. If sharing video content and high quality pictures is necessary to showcase your business’s works then Instagram is the perfect place to go.
TikTok: Unlike the other platforms in this list this platform was created recently in 2017 and is primarily dominated by Gen Z and millennials nevertheless this doesn’t mean it has fewer users than other platforms as it still boasts of a monthly user base of over 1 billion. Unlike Instagram that allows sharing of both videos and pictures. TikTok is a video only based platform specifically short videos. Most consumers seek entertainment so if you’re looking to build your business in that platform you might want to lean towards entertaining contents that also showcase your business.
LinkedIn: This is a purely professional platform with over 800 million monthly users and it is used to share basically business related content. It is ideal for B2B businesses, thought leadership content and for showcasing company culture.
EMERGING TRENDS:
The growth of TikTok has influenced other platforms excluding social media platforms globally into creating the rise of short form videos. For Instagram it’s known as reels even YouTube has created what we know as YouTube shorts. You can leverage on this by creating attractive contents all in one short video because you only have 3 seconds to catch your audience’s attention.
FOCUS ON AUTHENTICITY:
Your customers want to have a genuine connection with you or your brand. Content creation goes far beyond just content with high quality, create contents that show authenticity. Contents that let them feel that there’s actually a real person behind the brand a very popular example of this is behind the scenes glimpses. Give your audience glimpses of how your business goes, show them who the person behind the brand is. Also create contents that you know will be relatable to your audience.
ALGORITHMIC SHIFTS:
The Social Media algorithm focuses on contents that trigger engagements. Engagement means likes, shares, follows, comments. Prioritize on creating content that prompt your audience to engage in your content.
INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGIES:
If you notice you’re still unable to spark enough engagement within a certain period of time working with an influencer is the best way to go. Partnering with an influencer will be the best thing to happen to your business since it’s inception. But keep in mind that it is even more important to partner with the right influencer, one whose values align with your brand values.
BUILDING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY
DEFINING YOUR GOALS:
Before delving into Social Media Marketing be sure to clearly define your goals. Are you trying to create brand awareness? Are you there for lead engagement? Or do you just want customer awareness? These are questions you should answer in your head before diving into it.
IDENTIFYING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE:
Just as some Social Media platforms are only consumed by a certain group of people your business is also consumed by a certain group of people also known as your target audience. It is important to understand things like your customer’s age group, gender and educational qualification to help you know what kinds of content to create for them. The personal interests your customers share is also very important. Knowing your target audience, who they are and the things they like can help you create the exact tailored content just for them.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PLATFORM:
It can’t be stressed enough how important this is but as important as it is, it is also very simple to know. The Social Media platform that best suits your business depends on your business itself. For instance if you’re a baker then video content is the way to go. It is important to know the strengths of each Social Media platform and the contents that best resonate with them.
Tip: Perform a proper audience research to know which platform they are most active on, be it through surveys or listening tools
DEVELOPING A CONTENT CALENDAR:
When building on social media consistency is everything. Develop a content calendar to create contents before hand to ensure you have a regular flow of content. This can create familiarity between you and your audience.
CRAFTING COMPELLING CONTENT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
CONTENT FORMATS:
This represents the different ways in which you can create your contents. I’ll be speaking on a few of them and how they can be used:
Images: Images are perfect for grabbing attention anytime and across all platforms. Just make sure to use high quality images and keep any text overlay if used short and simple.
Infographics: An infographic is a visual representation of information or data. You can use them to represent complex data in a way that is easy for them to understand but still attractive.
Videos: With platforms like TikTok and Instagram using short video content they have found a way to make this an explosive form of entertaining content. Whereas platforms like Facebook or YouTube are better for long form vides. Just be sure to utilize the right kind of video for the right platform.
Stories: Keep your audience engaged by utilizing disappearing stories on platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You can share quick updates, sneak peeks of your business or even polls.
IMPORTANCE OF VISUALS:
A good visual speaks more than a thousand words. But let me show you exactly what they do:
Attention Grabbing: In our world where every platform is brimming with content it takes only 3 seconds for a content to catch the eye of your audience and that’s where good visuals come in. They stop scrolling to take note of your content.
Information Sharing: Knowing what form of content is needed for the content you want to share is important and it has been proven that image and video contents are more effective than text alone.
LEVERAGING USER GENERATED CONTENT:
User Generated Content or UGC is content created by your audience such as reviews either as image or video format.
A customer review is a good marketing tool. People prefer to trust content from other customers than from the brand itself.
Boost your engagement by holding contests or giveaways amongst your audience this encourages interaction not just between you and your customers but between your customer to another customer.
STORYTELLING AND BRAND VOICE:
Storytelling is one of the most powerful skills ever! Share stories about yourself, your brand or even your customers. You can do this by sharing a story of how a customer purchased one of your product and how that product changed her life for the better.
Craft stories that help you connect with your audience on an emotional level. This will help your brand build a relationship with your audience.
MASTERING SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
Responding To Comments And Messages
At first glance this seems obvious but what you don’t know is, this builds trust between you and your audience. Respond to their messages promptly and professionally to give yourself a sense of authority and commitment.
Running Contests And Giveaways:
If you want to leverage on User Generated Content then this is how you acquire it.
Hosts giveaways and contests that require audience members alone that way you can attract new followers for your brand and also increase engagement.
Hosting Live Events And Q&A Sessions:
Live events is one of the best ways to create a connection between you and your audience.
Host live sessions to communicate with your audience in real time. You can host live Q&A sessions or even behind the scenes glimpses. This can help your audience connect with you on an authentic level.
Engaging With Industry Influencers:
Partnering with an influencer who already has a powerful business brand and shares a similiar niche to yours is the best way to elevate your brand. By leveraging on their powerful brand you can expand yours to a wider audience.
MEASURING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS
IDENTIFYING KEY METRICS:
Tracking your success helps you know how far your brand has grown. There are things to take into consideration and they are:
Brand Awareness: Track the number of accounts you have reached, the impressions gained, and most obviously your follower growth.
Engagement: Keenly observe the likes, comments and shares you’ve gained over a period of time. From your oldest posts to your latest posts track how far you’ve gone with your brand.
Lead Generation: Keep track of the number of leads you’ve generated through Social Media ads and campaigns. This can help you decide on where and what to grow on.
UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS TOOLS:
Nowadays most Social Media platforms come with built in analytics tools and example of this is Facebook and Instagram insights or LinkedIn analytics. What these tools do is help you understand your audience demographics, interests and online behavior. They also help you track how your posts are performing and the engagements they receive. Some tools even allow you spy (in a good way of course) on your competitors to give you an advantage over them.
Use these insights to modify your content strategy and rearrange your posting times if needed.
CONCLUSION
Let’s have a recap to the essential steps for effective social media marketing in 2024.
Understand the vast landscape that is social media and which platform suits your business.
Build a strategy for your brand to take it to the top. Create attractive content for your audience on the right platform, the one that resonates with both your business and audience. And track your success on social media to see how much you’ve grown your business, your mistakes and the steps you can take to grow it further.
Take action by implement the strategies I’ve given you accordingly as every business needs to grow in the digital world.
Below are some resources to help you begin your journey