Social media has been an important marketing strategy for years now, but never has it been more relevant. During the Covid-19 pandemic especially, social media is one of the best ways to keep your audience engaged with your business. Like any marketing technique, there’s a wrong way and a right way to implement a social media marketing strategy. In this article, we’ll go over some of the most effective methods, as well as some of the most common missteps.
Read the Room
There is a stereotype around business social media accounts that they’re invading a space meant for only individuals. If you’re not careful, you’ll fall into this image. There are a few things that you can do to avoid getting this nasty reputation, however. First, be respectful of the space. A social media marketing account is a guest in the digital landscape. It’s important not to invade your audience’s time. Social media is a great place to talk with your potential customers and find out what they’re looking for. What it’s not good for is talking to your audience.
It’s fine to post ads, don’t get me wrong, but finding a good balance is crucial. At least half of your posts should be about connecting with your customers rather than pushing products or services on them. Social media is about connecting with people, not selling to them.
Empathy and Sensitivity
Social media marketing is a great way to relate to your customers and show that you see them as individuals instead of just for their wallets. Especially now, when many people have lost their jobs or had to cut their spending, it’s important to be sensitive to financial and personal hardships that may be affecting your audience.
A great way to do this is to make sure your social media marketing account feels more like a person than a company. You want your audience to feel like they’re interacting with a person, not just some random corporate machine.
Create a Conversation
Open communication is one of the best parts of social media marketing. It’s a great way to get feedback from your customers. Create a dialogue with your audience by liking or responding to comments or posts about your business. It’s important to keep your page a positive place, even when you have to respond to something negative. Life is hard enough right now, people don’t need another source of sadness, they want to look to something that will help them smile.
One way to foster interaction with your posts is to hold contests or giveaways. These are also a way to get more eyes on your account because people are likely to share them with their friends.
Set Yourself Apart
The pandemic has seen a lot of businesses suffer, so keeping loyal customers is more important than ever. The best way to do this is to use your social media marketing campaign to set yourself apart from the competition. Find ways to help the struggling community around you. This might mean giving away free products, holding contests, sponsoring local events, donating to food banks or other charities dedicated to helping people during the pandemic. Announcing these partnerships on your social media page is an excellent way for people to feel connecting to your company and their community.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is a great way to stay connected to your customers during tough times, as long as you don’t use it the wrong way. Save the hard sell tactics for paid advertisements. Use your social media to build a genuine connection with your audience and show them why you deserve their business. For help running a successful social media marketing campaign, reach out to Affordable SEO Tampa.