With the continuous improvement of technology and the rise of the internet, it is no surprise that using social media for marketing has become prevalent for different businesses worldwide. And while there is a certain ease and convenience in using social media - so much so that even kids can actively use and participate, marketing on social media successfully is no easy feat. Like all other business endeavors, it takes much dedication and creativity to be able to win the game of social media marketing. There are significant challenges that a social media marketer must know how to overcome. So, right here and right now, we will be talking through all you need to know about how to do social media marketing and why you need it for your business.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Let’s start this off by defining what social media marketing is. Well, put it simply, it is exactly what it sounds like - using social media for marketing. But let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? The term “social media” certainly encompasses multiple sites and networks. Sometimes, it can be confusing to identify which sites actually qualify as “social media”. But the first step in successfully using social media for marketing is to know and understand these social media sites. By definition, social media pertains to any internet-based platform used for communication, sharing all kinds of information, and creating different types of content. While it sounds quite simple when we put it like that, every thriving social media marketer must know the basic types of social media sites. Let us shortly discuss these:
- Social Networking Sites. These sites refer to those platforms mainly aimed at connecting different people worldwide. The most popular ones of this type are: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. With these websites, you can easily reach and talk to different people, no matter their citizenship, location, gender, etc. Social media marketing involves maximizing the use of these websites because the more people you connect with, the more well-known your business will be, and the more successful your efforts in marketing on social media will be.
Image from Strikingly user’s website
- Image Sharing Sites. The second type of social media site that is best to be used by a social media marketer or a business owner, such as yourself, are the sites wherein you can spotlight your products and services. With image-sharing sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat, you can easily showcase high-quality images and even short video clips to highlight all that your business has to offer. This type of social media marketing can easily help you attract more customers and connections for your business since visuals truly play an important role in marketing, in general.
- Video-Sharing Sites. Quite similar to yet more extensive than image-sharing websites, video-sharing sites are best used for video advertisements that you want to share with the online community. Social media marketing using videos truly helps you connect more with your audience, especially if you do it with much creativity and flair. This is especially true when your products and services are best highlighted through videos. Marketing on social media sites such as Youtube, Tiktok, and Vimeo are the most prevalent examples of this third type of site.
Image from Strikingly user’s website
- Social Blogs. The last type of social media marketing site is the most popularly used today. While it is more on the traditional and older media, it is more similar to marketing such as newspapers and magazines. Using social media for marketing strongly involves using the written word to connect with more people. While visuals are very important for social media marketing, writings and articles, such as this one, truly help people - your audience knows the various information they wish to know. With this, you will not only be marketing on social media, but you will also be helping your customers in various ways.
Knowing this kind of information will help you know which avenues to focus more on. Because while we want to expand our horizons more and be present everywhere, like every journey and endeavor, it is smarter to maximize the platforms and tools where our strengths and good features can more easily be emphasized and highlighted. Because more isn’t always better. Using social media for marketing might seem easy at first, but sustaining those kinds of efforts will get more and more burdensome as you go on. And so, while there is no definite way how to do social media marketing, it is best to use it in the ways that best showcase all that your business has to offer.
Benefits of Using Social Media For Marketing
Since we already mentioned how much time and effort goes into social media marketing, we should also probably detail how using social media for marketing actually helps you and your business.
Here are only some rewards you would get if you can successfully use social media to your business's advantage and growth.
∙ Help Form Strong Connections
Using social media for marketing your business allows you to reach more people and form vital relationships. Both in ways that are directly and indirectly done through your social media marketing efforts, social media will enable you to have an avenue to get your message across. By reaching out to more people, you are given the opportunity and the ability to forge relationships that can lead to loyal customers that will stay and support your business for years to come.
∙ Generate Leads and Sales
When you reach and connect with more people, this could easily translate into leads and sales. By connecting your business to different social media platforms, you give your audience easy access to your business and services. Because doing so and filling the different platforms with your social media marketing efforts, you can better move your audience and help them to reach your online stores more conveniently and order your products right there and then.
Image taken from Strikingly
∙ Improve Brand Awareness
By spreading the word about your business using social media marketing, you arm yourself with a tool to build your brand and business identity. It allows you to be more easily recognized as what you aim to represent with your products and services. Using social media for marketing helps you to share with millions of people. And by doing so, you are also giving yourself more support for all of your other marketing efforts.
∙ Represent Your Humanity and Heart
The use of social media marketing, at its very core, helps you to remind your audience and your customers that behind every post and every advertisement, there is a person like them - there is you. Social media marketing helps you not only to introduce your business but also to represent yourself as a business owner. This helps you appear more approachable and helpful to your customers, which would help you forge even more long-lasting relationships with them.
Image from Strikingly user’s website.
Strikingly and Social Media
While giving much time, attention, and effort to your social media accounts and your social media marketing efforts is vital. It is equally important to remember that having your own website is a huge step in ensuring success in the business. Having your own website to connect your social media accounts helps you gain more followers.
Consequently, it helps forge better long-lasting relationships because you help them stay more updated and connected to you.
You can add different icons of the different social media platforms you use for marketing on social media, which directly links to your social media account.
Image taken from Strikingly
With Strikingly, you not only have access to different kinds of amazing features for creating the best website for your business, but you can easily connect your social media platforms. Some of the best features you can have with Strikingly are:
- Simple Store where you can add your items and order forms.
- Strikingly Analytics where you can easily see the status of your website, your store, and your blog.
- Sign-up and contact forms where you can communicate and connect with your audience and site visitors.
- Simple Blog where you can add different articles that will help you showcase your business.
- Social feed where you can add your social media accounts and even your Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter feed.
Social media marketing is continuously growing. And so, to keep up with the demands of the world that you and your business are a part of, you have to know and understand the ins and outs of what it means to use social media for marketing purposes. Having your own website to which you can easily connect those efforts is also a vital part of this process. And so, in your journey to get ahead, let Strikingly help you achieve all your marketing goals and assist you in making your social media marketing efforts shine.
