The benefits of social media marketing (SMM) seem to be increasing yearly with the overriding impact being the improvement of visibility and recognition of your products and services. Social media marketing is an incredibly cost-efficient way to digitally spread content to a wide range of consumers. Because the bottom line is – when customers are purchasing a product, they are more likely to choose a product they are familiar with.
Social media marketing is really about using creativity to create quality content. There are many different types of platforms you can share this on. But first, you must understand and believe in the value of utilizing this approach because it does also require a thought-out strategy in order to deliver on brand awareness, increased website traffic, and the promotion of your products and services.
To help you get onboard, consider Forbes List of 6 Digital Marketing Trends To Watch In 2018. Number 2 on their list is Media Properties. This talks about the importance of considering your business, regardless of what industry you are in, as a media company. The reason for this is that the best way to control the conversation in front of your prospects and customers is to be in front of them with quality content. They suggest launching a media platform that is solely focused on providing helpful content to your customers on a regular basis.
An interesting way to get started using SMM that is inexpensive and not too time-consuming is microblogging. Microblogging is a short-form of traditional blogging combined with instant messaging. While blogs usually range is length anywhere from 300 words to 2,500 words, microblogging is about creating a much shorter message that is posted and shared publicly.
There are several social media platforms that support this new type of blogging, like Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Today, more people are using mobile devices to consume content and these platforms are better designed for this type of convenient communication. Plus, they can handle a variety of content formats beyond just text, such as video, audio, images and hyperlinks.
The positives for microblogging include: less time creating content and less time consuming content, an opportunity for more posts and mobile convenience. So it makes sense to utilize SMM, and particularly microblogs, as part of your overall marketing strategy. Now, if you want to get the most from your microblogging efforts here are five tactics to get you on track.
Be consistent. Set a schedule for your SMM activities. Plan what days each week you want your audience to get a message from you. Maybe you decide on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it’s up to you. The most important thing is to stick to your distribution schedule and post your microblog on those days.
Follow the right format. Text microblogs should be no more than 280 characters and include your website at the end of the message. Create microblogs that provide helpful advice, tips or unique messages that grab the attention of your followers and generate interest, hopefully, even bringing them back to your website.
Chanel your efforts. While your microblogs should provide insight or help your audience solve a problem, it’s also very important that they drive them back to your website, where the selling happens. So be sure to include your company URL on every platform you use so your audience can get directly to you with ease.
Be positive. People run into tons of negative messages everyday. Try to create microblog posts that offer positive reinforcement so they look forward to next your next message. So basically try to stay away from complaining, unless that’s what your company is known for.
Collect all your postings. Once you start posting regularly on SMM sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), you’re essentially creating microblogs. You’ll want to collect all those posts in one place. To this on your website to keep the traffic with you. Collect them on your blog so customers have the opportunity to read both short and longer posts.
