Social media is a great platform to keep up with friends and to find long-lost relatives and old-time friends. It has the power to reconnect people across the world. With its wide reach, it also became a useful tool for businesses to reach out to their target audience. From a simple medium to communicate and reunite with other individuals, social media has evolved into an extensive and more advanced marketplace. Let’s dig deeper on how social media marketing started, get to know the different social media marketing sites that users are into nowadays, and learn how it can help your brand penetrate a different set of target audience.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Evolution of Social Media Throughout the Years
Social Media Marketing in Singapore
Part 1: Facebook as a Social Media Marketing (SMM) Platform
Key Features of Facebook
- Facebook Photos
- Interactive Online Chat
- Facebook Pages
- Facebook Live
- Facebook Portal
Facebook as an SMM Tool
Facebook Business Page: How it Can Help Market Your Brand
Tips for Optimising Your Facebook Business Page
- Gaining Facebook Likes and Fans
- Using Effective Facebook Posts
- Using Facebook Insights and Analytics
Part 2: Other Social Media Marketing Platforms
Youtube
Part 3: How Can Social Media Marketing Help Your Brand
Benefits of SMM
- Boost Brand Awareness
- Improved Search Engine Rankings
- Better Customer Service
- Attract Young Audience
Evolution of Social Media Throughout the Years
Before, social media was used as an avenue for users to share their personal stories and events, and some posted their opinions online. However, this trend was short-lived. According to the GlobalWebIndex, . It is the second most reason on the overall results closing in on the topmost reason which is to keep in touch with their friends. Meanwhile, content sharing dropped significantly, falling on the bottom ten of the list. This just proves that users are now more interested in consuming timely and entertaining content.
Another significant evolution in social media is that it became an outlet for businesses to market their products and services. This happened because social media allows users to have access to information on the latest news and events. Users get to know about not just political and social issues, but also business news too. It helps businesses to get their brand known to a large audience, thus the advent of social media marketing was born.
Social Media Marketing in Singapore
In Singapore, the of most brands is social media monitoring. The result is of no surprise when most people use digital channels to connect with one another. In fact, there are over. This number is considered high given that the.
Before, businesses would make use of market share data and information from media outlets to map out their marketing campaigns. Now, social media management is used to boost brand awareness and improve customer service. This is possible because most platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have features that allow consumers to send messages and inquiries to businesses in an instant. With this, business owners can now respond as soon as possible to their requests, thus promoting customer engagement.
Part 1: Facebook as a Social Media Marketing (SMM) Platform
Despite the many social media sites that were first established way back in 1999, Facebook remained as . The latest survey results in Statista showed that . The reason for the continued success of Facebook is because of its timely entry in the market. Broadband Internet became available at that time and the users are becoming more diverse. Moreover, there are various platforms that introduced the concept of social media to users beforehand. Such sites include MySpace, Friendster, and Live Journal. The idea wasn’t new to them that it became easier for them to adapt to the nuances of using another social media platform which is Facebook.
Also, it was thanks to various engineers who continued to develop new features that would improve user experience. Here are some of the popular features of Facebook that made it popular until the present time:
Facebook Photos
Facebook photos are considered as one of the most popular features in this social media platform because not only can it be used to upload and post a user’s photo, but it can also be used to tag other people on it. This is an innovative method that helps connect people online.
Interactive Online Chat
Facebook messenger presents an interactive online chat that allows users to message each other for free. One of the greatest features of it is that it has emoticons and stickers that make conversations more fun and engaging. Moreover, Facebook has a comment and react feature that lets you leave messages on a post.
Facebook Pages
Most influencers, artists, public figures, business and organisations in Singapore use Facebook Pages as part of their digital marketing efforts because it can help gather “fans” and followers to boost their online presence.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live presents opportunities for businesses to interact with their followers in an instant. It makes use of real-time videos and comments that help entrepreneurs better understand the needs and wants of their consumers.
Facebook Portal
Facebook Portal is a video messaging device that has an artificially intelligent camera. It tracks the person in the video to keep it in sight. Also, it has an Alexa voice assistant which allows a user to find answers on the Internet or tweak a phone’s setting using a voice command.
Facebook as an SMM Tool
The continuous rise in the number of Facebook users opened opportunities for entrepreneurs to reach out to their potential customers. In fact, . While in Singapore, there are over as of 2018. Because of this large penetration rate, . How did this happen? It’s because of the availability of Facebook Pages. It became an avenue for businesses to promote their products and services. Plus, it has features that allow them to track and monitor their Facebook management strategies.
Facebook Business Page: How it Can Help Market Your Brand
Creating a Facebook Business Page is one of the most effective ways to connect with customers. It allows you to post content that is useful and entertaining to your followers. You can even track down the effectiveness of your campaigns using a tool called “Facebook Insights”. This enables you to better understand your consumers because it displays statistics and reports that show the performance of your posts.
Moreover, their Facebook Page can also be used as a medium to humanize your brand. You can do this through one-on-one conversations on Messenger. Actively replying in chat makes the experience for users more personal and interactive.
Last, it helps establish a community for their customers to voice out opinions and suggestions about their products and services. It will be easier to gain loyal customers and attract new ones if you managed to build a successful online community.
Tips for Optimising Your Facebook Business Page
Having a business page alone cannot guarantee success in . There should be a comprehensive plan to be done to make it work. How to do it? The answer lies in the top three tips below:
Gaining Facebook Likes and Fans
Although the easy way to gain likes and followers is to buy them, you still should not do it. You would only be wasting lots of money if you do. There would be no hint of interaction in your page because the likes you bought are from dummy, inactive accounts. Users who would visit your page might question the disparity in your posts and the number of your page likes.
There is the right method to gather fans and likes. First, create engaging and entertaining content. Brainstorm with your team and think of videos, photos, infographics that can pique the interest of your target consumers. Second, always respond to their inquiries as soon as possible until you earn the “very responsive to messages” badge. Consumers will be enticed to engage themselves with your brand if they saw this badge. Third, optimise the “About” section of your Facebook and fill it with searchable information. Remember, don’t use too much keyword to make the description look natural. Finally, promote your page on your website. There is a Page Plugin feature on Facebook that can be used to embed in your website. Once embedded, it will show an that lets them users see your latest posts.
Using Effective Facebook Posts
Don’t know what kind of content should you feed to your users? Here are some of the effective Facebook posts that can help you gain likes and fans:
a. Post Videos
Use videos to tell the story of how you came up with your brand.. Just make sure to make the first 5 to 10 seconds visually compelling because of Facebook previews only the first few seconds of the video. Also, it would be great to add an SRT file format to put some subtitles on the video. Facebook usually automatically plays videos without sounds unless the user turns it on. So, having subtitles can help users easily digest your content even though they are just scrolling on their feeds.
b. Use Facebook Virtual Reality
Since the , then it is a great idea to create content that is compatible with mobile devices. One way to do it is to post a 350-degree video through Facebook 360. It allows users to tilt and turn a video that provides an interactive experience which makes them feel like they are actually in the venue
c. Use Facebook Instant Articles
Aside from linking blog posts on your page, you can also make use of Facebook Instant Articles. It allows users to view a text or photo-based content to be viewed directly on Facebook. This is very convenient for users because they won’t have to leave the website anymore whenever they want to get to see the full content. It also helps decrease the frustratingly slow, loading time on their phones.
Using Facebook Insights and Analytics
One of the crucial steps in Facebook management is to analyse your performance through Facebook Insights. It is a tool that presents measurable results so it would be easier to if a post is effective. There is a graph to be shown in the “Likes” and “Reach” tabs. Look out for the spike in the graph because it indicates that the content posted at that time generated a large number of likes and engagement. You can use this information to create a comprehensive content calendar.
Part 2: Other Social Media Marketing Platforms
YouTube
The shift from static content to videos in SMM has made Youtube as one of the front liners in the social media scene. It ranked as the second most used social network with over. There are also at least Using the right social media management strategy and with the help of “Youtubers” or influencers, it can be utilised as an effective SMM platform.
Businesses can make use of the concept of Trending Videos on Youtube to gain exposure. If their video became viral, their channel will be featured at the homepage for 24 hours. With this, almost all Youtube users get to catch a glimpse of trending videos. Thus, there is a high chance for it to get more likes and views. Another feature that is essential for businesses is the Youtube Partner Program. When their channel reaches 4,000 watch hours in 12 months and a thousand subscribers, they get paid every time a user views the ads in their videos.
WhatsApp is placed that it is used in almost a hundred countries, including Singapore. What makes it a great SMM is that it has a business app that can be used to create a professional business profile, as well as promote customer engagement and interaction.
One of the reasons that make Whatsapp a useful social media platform for business is that most Singaporeans are using it often. In 2018, there are over. The recent change in consumer behaviour contributed to the success of this app. Instead of consuming content, users are now more active in messaging with each other through WhatsApp. This shift gave birth to a “conversational commerce” in which it allows businesses to develop a much more personal communication towards their consumers.
Although is not as high as the other mentioned social networking sites, it is still considered as one of the most powerful SMM platforms because it is designed to build networks and connections. Also, it can be used to reach out to their clients, as well as, make connections with influential brands to boost their credibility. These are three LinkedIn features that businesses must focus on:
- LinkedIn Showcase Pages
It allows them to highlight their specific products and services. It can also be used for introducing new brands and taglines.
- LinkedIn Groups
It is used to create networks outside a business owner’s current circle or industry. Its highlight feature is that it has a discussion section that allows them to feature their Company Page on LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn Ads
It helps their ads reach the right prospects and B2B leads because of its in-depth targeting features. An ad can be filtered to reach specific demographics.
, according to Statista. The greatest advantage of using Twitter is that it focuses on customer interaction more than product promotion. It helps small businesses to get to know more of their customers and how to better serve them. Establishing an online presence using it can also help them monitor their competitors. Here are some of the useful tools of Twitter for Business:
- TweetDeck
It is a tool that has customisable columns for organising notifications, tracking hashtags and scheduling tweets.
- Hootsuite
It works almost the same as TweetDeck in which it can be used to manage tweets and view campaign results. Unlike in TweetDeck, it uses tabs instead of columns so it is more organised.
- Twitter Amplify
It allows one to share videos beyond the current followers of a specific brand. It only delivers the ad to specific targets to make it more effective.
The smartest move that Instagram made was when it used Twitter’s hashtag feature to another level. The hashtag culture can help boost brand awareness because it allows users to view results that are relevant related to the specific hashtag that they clicked. In this way, there is a high chance for a certain brand to get discovered. Moreover, business posts in IG are not suppressed in Instagram, unlike on Facebook. Check out these Instagram features that can boost your social media marketing strategy in Singapore:
1. Question Sticker
It promotes customer engagement because it prompts a user to give a response on a poll or question.
2. Shoppable Posts
It makes it easier for users to buy products online because they won’t have to leave an Instagram post once they’ve chosen to buy an item.
3. Repost Feature
Whenever a user mentions a brand’s name in their hashtag, the said brand can reshare it for their followers to view the post.
Part 3: How Can Social Media Marketing Help Your Brand
Benefits of SMM
Social media management is a must for businesses out there. There are over worldwide so entrepreneurs in Singapore would be missing out on a lot of business opportunities if they haven’t ventured into it yet. This includes brand positioning, improved SEO, social competitive analysis, and many more. Here’s how it can help your brand:
Boost Brand Awareness
The large pool of users in social media gives opportunities for businesses to boost their brand awareness. It enables them to build networks and connections to expand their reach. Social networks do not just include consumers, but also other entrepreneurs of the same line of business. With this, it can strengthen B2B relationships that can be beneficial for improving your products and services.
Improved Search Engine Rankings
Although the metrics of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media sites do not affect Google’s search engine rankings, it can still indirectly improve your SEO efforts. The followers and fans you will eventually gain in your social media accounts can help increase the traffic on your website because they will most likely click through the links that you include in your post.
Better Customer Service
The messenger apps of some social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp can be used to improve customer service. This is because it allows you to reply quickly to the questions and inquiries of your customers. Plus, it is enticing for consumers to get in touch easily with a business because they can be accommodated right away.
Attract Young Audience
In Singapore, there are currently This age group is considered as the largest proportion of the entire population of Singaporeans using social media. So, imagine the number of young people that you can convince to patronise your products and services.
In this digital age, businesses should take more effort into their social media marketing strategies. These will help them build an established online presence that can help in getting their brand recognised. But of course, in order for it to be successful, there needs to be an expert in SEO and digital marketing who would work in the background. So, consider hiring a digital marketing agency that can do social media management work for you.
social media marketing in Singapore with the help of experts from a digital marketing agency, OOm! Contact us now at 6391 0930.