“Build it, and they will come” only works in the movies. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them and they may come and stay.” – Seth Godin
Gone are the days of simply posting on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, and expecting your followers (both customers and prospects) to see or absorb what you have to say. Nowadays, it is all about a dynamic interaction with an ever-hungry, highly-eager, but mostly impatient audience.
- Are you engaging them enough with polls, votes and reactions?
- Are you keeping your messaging short, on-point and interesting?
- Are you delivering your communication through the most relevant platforms?
- Are you creating adequate buzz for them to take notice, like, share, advocate or purchase your brand?
In the overloaded and cluttered world of digital content, the only way to grab eyeballs is to align the shape, size, form and delivery of your content to the preferences of your audience. Today, you can maximize the features available on social media platforms to engage with your customers or prospects like never before. Tell them an inside story about your company, give them a sneak-peek at your product, organize live streaming of an industry influencer using your brand, or host your customers’ video reviews; the possibilities are limitless!
Ready to adopt the rapidly evolving technology and embrace the advanced features that every social media platform now offers? Read on to know how social advertising could tip the scales in your favour and help you create an impactful marketing campaign.
Top Five Tips for a Powerful Social Advertising Strategy
From Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, to Snapchat, LinkedIn and Pinterest, all the major social networks offer advertising options that can help you achieve a variety of business goals.
- Brand Awareness: Expand your reach and connect with a large base of current or potential customers.
- Consideration: Direct traffic to your website, start conversations about your brand, increase engagement and dialogue, encourage app installs or video views, and generate leads.
- Conversion: Collect leads, drive online conversions, make catalog sales and drive foot traffic to offline stores.
Here are some in-depth tips to create a powerful social advertising strategy:
1. Keep Up with the Latest Trends: The success of your marketing campaign hugely depends on whether you have an ear to the ground, and are in touch with social media realities, as well as emerging technologies. Invest time and money in researching the data in order to target the right audience, spend the lowest click cost, and be present on the most conversion generating platforms.
2. Utilize the Power of ‘Selfies’ and Leverage Visual Content: Adopt a ‘selfie’ approach to make your brand more relatable. Instead of the traditional promo-based messaging, present your business through video content on Snapchat, Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and IGTV. Remember, on social media, visual content is king.
3. Segment Your Audience: Social media users may not necessarily be looking for your product or service, and may not even be aware of your brand. Invest time and money in studying the demographics of each platform, before deciding the type and number of paid ads that you wish to place. For example, Pew Research Center has recently published a report that offers detailed insights into the use of social media amongst adults in the US. Similarly, use relevant analytics tools to track the results and revenue generated by your social media efforts.
4. Opt for Quality over Quantity: Don’t just jump onto the social bandwagon and flood each platform with sub-par content. You may end up confusing or dissuading potential consumers, instead of engaging them positively. For example: 85% of the video views on Facebook are played without the sound. That means you need to focus on optimizing your videos for sound off, and making them meaningful, even if they are watched on muted volume.
5. Create Evocative Content: Craft a compelling narrative that helps you optimize your social advertising strategy. Make sure your brand story is interesting and inspiring and stands out in the midst of the digital content clutter that your target audience is exposed to.
Ride the Social Media Advertising Wave with Ease and Confidence
Social media advertising may appear quite simple, yet there are many considerations to create a powerful campaign that maximizes your ad spend. Adopting a balanced approach to ‘Stories’, influencer marketing, real-time Q&As, customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes-videos and other social features will help you create the desired levels of engagement. Thanks to its speed, efficiency and affordability, social media advertising can be one of the most profitable and versatile avenues for extending your reach and meeting your business marketing goals.
Confused about the construct, content, images and filters in social ads? Unsure about where, how often and how much to spend on social advertising? Lean on the Digital Marketing experts at WSI eStrategies in Ottawa to step up your social advertising game. Book a discovery meeting and let’s discuss a comprehensive and powerful social media strategy.
