Social media has become an important part of every business’ marketing strategy over the last five years. During that time, social media has added nearly one billion new users and smart companies have realized that they need to be in that space if they want to succeed. By mastering a few trends and tips for social media marketing, you can get an advantage over your competition.
The problem is that many companies are going about social media all wrong, they are not staying abreast of the trends that are happening in the industry and are getting left behind.
Adopting the following trends and tips for social media will help you cut through all the noise on social media and get your message in front of your ideal customer.
Table of Contents
1. Live Video
Nearly every social media platform now has its version of live video services. Twitter has Periscope, Facebook and Instagram each have their own native live streaming features. Consumers love to interact with brands via live streaming video. Facebook has even launched a group video chat app.
It gives them a sense of being in an exclusive group and they can interact in real-time with the company.
Take Facebook Live for example. According to the company, Facebook Live videos are watched three times longer than non-live videos. With this kind of retention, it is imperative that you develop a live video strategy for your company.
2. Personalization
Consumers are bombarded with content on social media on a daily basis. It is your duty to get your message in front of the right consumer at the right time. Using technology like a Facebook pixel you can track your prospects through the buying process and get relevant content in front of them that will help them make a buying decision.
By tracking your prospect’s actions on social media you can tailor your message and give the consumer a positive experience dealing with your company.
Using communications apps like WhatsApp can give your customers real-time access to your company. You should learn how to backup WhatsApp conversations in order to use them for consumer research. This will give you a unique insight into your customer’s mind.
3. Brand Advocacy
Having advocated for your business on social media can go a long way. Consumers will trust their peers more than any paid ad. Budgets for brand advocacy has increased by 191% for a reason, it works.
In order to find brand advocates, you should look no further than your employees. They should regularly post about your company in a positive manner. You should also be using customer-created content on all your social media profiles. By highlighting delighted customers, you will show prospects that they, too, can get the same positive feelings by going with your company.
4. Native Content
Consumers are getting smarter and they are ignoring traditional forms of advertising. This is why native advertising is one of the fastest-growing marketing segments. According to one study, native ad spending could reach $21 billion by 2018.
Investing in native ads can get your message in front of your prospect without being too obvious. It is this type of content that can be shared on social media and expand your message’s reach.
5. Marketing Automation
Sharing content across multiple social media platforms can be time-consuming. And many small businesses simply do not have the budget or manpower to consistently manage all their social profiles.
There are many social media management tools on the market that can help streamline this process. You can schedule content out for a month and curate content that your readers will find valuable with a few clicks.
By adopting these five trends and tips for social media, marketing effort will be more effective and contribute handsomely to your bottom line.