Know your competition and outwork them
If your competitors don’t have social media yet, it’s a great opportunity to beat them to it. But if they already use it, don’t fret. You can actually even use their data for your own social media plan. This process is called competitor analysis.
The most effective social media marketing strategies always include a certain amount of research on the competition. You need to find out what other companies are doing, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what social media platforms they’re on, and how they’re using these platforms to achieve their business goals.
But that’s not the best thing about competitor research. Do you know what is? Spotting opportunities.
Competitor analysis is like quality control. It allows you to see the errors that other businesses are making and correct them on your strategy before launching them to the world. You learn things from other people’s efforts, so you don’t have to go through all the trouble they went through.
You can also use social media listening. Although not entirely a solid strategy, it allows you to see what they’re saying and what other people think about them. This is more to gauge the general reception of competitor brands.
There are several social media management tools you can use to monitor accounts in real-time. Make sure you have access to those. Look out for posts or campaigns that totally rocked the platform and learn as much as you can about it. Then use it to create your own.
Set up your profile and keep improving it
You know your business more than anyone. This knowledge should allow you to decide which social networks to use and what strategy you need for each. For example, if your business wants to feature actual images of your products, you’re better off using Instagram. If you want access to more users, you can useFacebook or YouTube (16.5 and 16 million unique monthly visitors respectively).
Some businesses use these platforms together to provide customers with an overall pleasant experience. For instance, a company could use Instagram or Snapchat to post stories and then use Twitter for customer service. This strategy keeps them organised and makes it easier for their customers to follow.
If possible, write out and publish a statement for each network. This will inform your followers on how you operate each account and help you with prioritisation.
“DM us on Twitter for all your account-related concerns and submit all confirmed orders on Instagram.”
This makes it easier for customers to navigate and understand how you utilise your social media accounts. Additionally, you will give off an impression that you like to keep things in order, which translates to seamless transactions should they decide to purchase your products or book a service.
One of the most common mistakes that businesses make is leaving their online profiles incomplete. We know it might seem like it’s not a big deal, but it most definitely is. Leaving several profile fields empty will make your social media account seem inactive. People visiting your page may think that you’re not attentive to details, which could discourage them from considering you.
You also need to be consistent across all platforms with your branding. Make sure brand assets such as your logos, cover photos, and images are recognizable and mesh well together to your business’ advantage. Check out how this simple change can positively affect your online presence just like what happened in this case study.
Remember, just because there are several platforms available to you doesn’t mean that you have to be on all of them. Make sure you use only what’s necessary and focus on growing those. It’s much easier to maintain your visibility on a few platforms and it allows you to concentrate your efforts on reaching your business goals.
