2015 has already seen some of the most interesting developments in social media since its inception. With Instagram’s user base skyrocketing, and live streaming platforms taking up a new found popularity, these developments have proven just how fast the world of social media can change. This means that you need to be adapting your social media marketing strategies to suit the new landscape.
Here’s just three of the most popular social media marketing strategies big and small businesses have been using during the first half of 2015:
Community building
Last year, the primary focus of social media for a lot of businesses was building a large following. While this is still important – having people receptive to your page in large numbers – it’s also not the best way to work. Focus is moving away from the quantity of followers, towards the overall quality and it makes sense. There is some merit to having hundreds of thousands of people potentially seeing your posts, but what does it really matter if they are not engaging with your brand?
Spend some time creating engaging posts, asking your target audience questions, and speaking to them directly. Encouraging conversation on your Facebook page or Twitter feed will immediately help to build a community that the most loyal fans will thrive in.
Story telling
Now, brands aren’t expected to tell a whole story on social media – but an interesting extract which is likely to draw attention works well when coupled with a link to a blog or web page telling the full story. Customers will enjoy seeing the human aspect to a brand, and feeling like they are part of a larger picture – just look at the success of the Facebook page ‘Humans of New York’ when considering the storytelling format.
Consider finding a way to add story telling to your social media marketing strategies for the second half of 2015 and see how well it works.
Facebook advertising
As Facebook enhances its advertising capability, it becomes an even more effective tool for businesses. Now, for a fraction of the price of traditional print advertising, Facebook can push out targeted adverts to an extremely specific demographic. They are increasing in popularity because they are friendly to budget: allowing businesses to choose lifetime budgets that suit their size.
Experimenting with Facebook advertising, and using the service to boost key posts and highlight important messages, is likely to help you build your brands following, increase sales and enhance awareness. However, they can be quite difficult to set up and get right – so it may be worth considering a specialist service, such as SEO Global Media, Inc., to assist you with your Facebook pay-per-click marketing initially.
