Last month, we talked about Social Media benchmarks. Today, we’re stepping back to take a higher level look at running a successful social media campaign.
Most of us use social media every day. Whether we’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or any of the other social media apps, we know how to consume. But do you know how to use it to promote? Do you know how to use it to build customer relations?
Have a Clear Goal in Mind
It seems obvious, but having a goal is crucial to measurement and success. What is your goal? Lead generation? Sales? Increased awareness? Website Traffic? Post sharing and engagement?
We’ve used the example before. A cute photo of a dog or a video of a child opening a present will typically outperform most other content. A blog on why you should shop for winter clothes in the summer, however, may not garner many likes. But it could earn your business a sale or two.
Play by the Rules
Posting as a business requires etiquette. But it also requires adhering to a lot of rules like text to photo ratio and size.
Let’s use Facebook for example. There are organic posts—the posts you put out there for free on your personal or business site. Then, there are boosted posts. Boosted posts are ads you create yourself from posts on your Facebook Page.
According to Ad Espresso by Hootsuite, “on average an organic post on facebook will only reach around 6.4% of the page’s total likes.” For a small investment, boosting can help you get people to react, share and comment. Boosting may also reach new people who are likely interested in your Page or business, but don’t currently follow you.
It’s important to remember that you are on an evolving platform. That means any given day, Facebook or other social media may change the way you did something the day before. They change the rules a lot too.
HS digital team can help you navigate this. You can also check out full Facebook guidelines here.
Make it Easier on Yourself
It’s easy to get bogged down with wasted screen time and passwords. There are two simple ways to avoid this.
First, create a simple content calendar to remind you to generate content. You can do this in excel, on your phone, by hand or with any of a number of free online tools.
Remember, to keep a balanced mix of educational, entertaining and promotional. For example, don’t just post about your fall sale. Give your audience, “7 Tips for Fall Fashion.”
Secondly, managing all your logins and passwords is time-consuming. Use one source like Sendible, Hootsuite or Zoho to manage your social media in one place, at one time. Take advantage of scheduling tools and be disciplined about how much time you spend online.
Go one step further with your digital efforts and deploy a CRM to schedule and manage all your social and marketing automation.
Don’t Rely on Social Media Alone
A lot of small businesses make this mistake. Because web-based media platforms are generally free, they funnel all their resources into them. Or they shift dollars reserved for other media into boosting posts or buying display ads.
Social media can be a powerful tool, but it is a crowded market out there. Social posting should be a supplement, not an entire strategy. Remember to do the things you typically do:
- Exceed customer service expectations in person
- Maintain a traditional media presence where you can
- Promote word-of-mouth
- Give people a reason to come back
- Reward them in some way when they do come back
Measure and Follow Up
Social media provides you very powerful metrics. Likes and shares don’t tell the whole story. But they can be good indicators. So be sure to log them and track your history.
Take note of what is working and what is not. Track them alongside your sales and follow up on how your campaign performed. When you measure, you can predict. And predicting success is always a good strategy.
Are you overwhelmed with your social strategy? Digital campaigns? Or email marketing? Put HS Digital team to work and we’ll make the most of your time online. Contact us today!
