Social Media! How many platforms can you think of in 15 seconds or less?

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Snapchat
• WhatsApp
• YouTube
• TikTok

So many platforms. Such a big part of our lives. So much so that we do not have to turn on the TV to watch the news.

The number of mainstream social media platforms has more than doubled in the last decade. And so has the number of social media users. Today, 7 in 10 Canadians use some form of social media. Comparatively, only 5% were using it in 2005.

Just look at these eye-opening statistics about social media usage in recent years:

• Facebook boasts 4.4 billion visitors each month and 2.74 billion monthly active users, a 12% increase year-over-year. (Source)
• Instagram has 1.6 billion active users. 6 in 10 of the users log in at least once a day. 90% of the accounts follow at least one business.
• People spend on average 2 hours and 23 minutes each day on social media browsing and messaging. (Source)
• Almost 93% of marketers have admitted to landing a customer via video promotion on social media. As well, 64% said that they generated the best ROI through social media. (Source)

Over the past decade or so, businesses took notice of the social media boom. They realized that it is a necessary marketing channel that deserves attention. They also discovered that it can be used to share information and spread word of mouth at an exponential rate. Without social media, businesses would have to rely on traditional marketing methods, resulting in less metrics, less brand awareness, and a more difficult to measure impact on ROI and sales.

If you are ready to jumpstart your social media marketing 2021 strategy, keep reading. Our social media marketing course instructors share with you 5 killer tips to help you dominate your industry in 2021 (and during CoVID-19 restrictions).

5 Actionable Social Media Marketing Tips for 2021 | DMAC

Tip 1: Define Your Goals and Objectives

A good 2021 social media marketing plan starts with a clear idea of what your marketing goals and objectives are. Choose the social media platforms where you are most likely to connect with your ideal target audience. Some platforms can work better for your campaign than others. LinkedIn for example is a great platform for B2B marketing whereas Instagram is great for B2Cmarketing in certain industries. Choosing the right platform is a crucial decision; choose carefully because this can make or break the campaign’s outcome.

Next, decide on the messaging of your campaign. Different campaigns will deliver different messaging. We recommend creating 1-3 different campaigns and doing A/B testing. This gives you the opportunity to try different things and tweak and alter accordingly.Proper research will determine the type of campaign that works for you.

Remember to engage your audience’s interests. When you tap into their interests with relevant content and messaging, you’ll receive more website clicks, more shares and more follows. The more shares, clicks or follows you get, the larger your audience will become. Eventually, your audience will become one step closer to converting.

Tip 2: Determine the Campaign Budget

Determining the campaign budget should always be your next step. Budgeting will help ensure that you have the money to reach your goals, whether that is boosting recognition for a new business or promoting a new product line. As well, without an accurate social media marketing budget, it is difficult to know the exact ROI of your work.

As a rule of thumb, 2-5% of business revenues should be allocated to B2B marketing. It is also recommended that B2C business spend between 5-10%.

Tip 3: Offer a Prize or Giveaway

Offer a prize that your target audience would be interested in winning, to create more engagement on your platform of choice. Please note the prize doesn’t need to be expensive. It just needs to make sense. Make the prize relate to the question or even your product. And remember to make the giveaway fun!

4. Avoid Excessive Sales Pressures

Consumers on social media are not keen on being sold to. In fact, a recent Sprout Social study argues that 57% of consumers find too many promotional posts annoying. They come to social networks to establish real connections and relationships. And the last thing that they want to see is an aggressive sales pitch in their social media feeds.

The secret ingredient to success is to craft helpful content that educate the consumer about your product or service. Meaning, it answers their questions and solves some of their painpoints!

“Social Media Marketing Tip – Avoid too many promotions – DMAC”  (source: Sprout Social)

5. Spy on Your Competitors

No tips list is complete without the inclusion of this tip – spying on your competitors. Spying on your competitors’ social media accounts does not mean to steal or copy their work. Scraped or copied content is a huge No-No in the social media marketing world.

Allocate some time to reviewing some of the top posts of your competitors. What keywords are they using? What kind of posts (e.g., image, video, infographic) get the most shares and mentions? Spying on your competitors can give you some useful insight into what is working and what is not working in your industry.

“Facebook Page Transparency – Spy on your competitors – Social media marketing tips – DMAC” (source: socialmediaexaminer)

DMAC Offers a Free Social Media Marketing Course to Help Close the Skills Gap

Yes, you heard us right. DMAC is giving back to Canadians in these trying times. We are offering our Facebook and Instagram 10-hour online course, with certification for free. No strings attached and no credit card required.

Learn new skills by following one of the best social media marketing courses of 2020 online! The course is ideal for all individuals interested in learning Facebook and Instagram marketing and advertising, including:

o Traditional marketers who want to learn more about Facebook and Instagram marketing quickly.
o Recent marketing graduates who want to stand out with recruiters when applying for a job.
o Business owners looking to leverage Facebook and Instagram’s advertising power to engage customers online.
o People looking for certification in social media marketing.
Some of the topics covered in our course are: Importance of Social Media in today’s world of advertising.
o Creating Facebook and Instagram marketing strategies
o Defining your Social Media marketing goals
o Running successful Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns
o Monitoring Facebook and Instagram marketing performance and analytics

No need to do another social media marketing course Google search; Click HERE to enroll today!
Read some of our student testimonials here.

DMAC – Digital Marketing Academy of Canada; offering social media marketing courses from Toronto online.

About DMAC – A Leading Provider of Online Social Media Marketing Certification Courses

yourDMAC.com is a great place to learn how to create and implement engaging and successful social media marketing campaigns. We offer social media marketing courses with certificates, and customized-corporate training seminars. Here you can learn and have a more hands-on experience. We customize all our corporate training sessions and we show your company how to create strategies and techniques to manage their own social media marketing campaigns internally.