Gyles SewardIs your social media marketing not hitting the mark? It’s never been more important to have a good visible presence online, and social media is affordable and available to all. Here are five straightforward pointers to give you a boost and get your social media message on track.
Get your timing right
Timing is perhaps the most vital element of getting your campaign viewed. Unfortunately, there is no simple formula to this; but if you know your target audience you will be able to work out when they are most likely to be receptive to your message, and adjust accordingly.
Put simply, if your posts are not getting the response you hope for, try making them at different times of the day. For example: are your customers active online during their lunch break? What platform are they on at what times of the day? If you can find this out, you can target your message to optimize success.
Remember email?
Email is still a great way to communicate with your existing clients and potential customers. Through social media you can encourage people to subscribe to newsletters and regular offers and updates. Incentives such as competitions are a great idea, and remember to be interactive and on the ball, which gives you a human presence.
It doesn’t stop there: make sure your emails are getting opened by including value to the recipient and avoiding spam filters. Ensure people are getting the message that you want them to wherever they are, by making sure your emails are easy on the eye, however and wherever they are viewed.
Choose the right message for the right platform
All of the social media platforms out there serve slightly different purposes and have slightly different audiences. Think about what you are marketing and work out which platform it is most suited to. Better yet, work out a way to make it appealing to various kinds of social media users and target your message differently over different platforms.
Pay to play
It would be great if free social media was always reliable as a marketing tool, but sometimes you simply have to pay to boost your traffic. Most platforms offer this and have variable rates according to your budget. By being prepared to pay you can expand your market outside of the usual organic search engine results, reaching people you would not have otherwise had access to.
A/B tests
Run simple split tests where you use one variation of a message for one half of your contacts or followers, and another variation for the other half. By tracking and analysing your results, you can easily see which methods pay most dividends, enabling your future campaigns to have maximum success.
Social media is already a part of many people’s lives and with the right message you can maximise the potential rewards available. As a bonus, remember: every time someone shares your message they are making your job easier.
(192)
