Getting started on your social media marketing journey can be hard. With so many platforms to choose from and so many users, you can easily get overwhelmed. You need to learn the basics of it before diving headfirst.
We’re a Los Angeles social media company with lots of experience in the field. Check out our beginner’s guide to social media marketing!
- Know Your Objectives
Before you get ahead of yourself, ask yourself what it is you’re trying to achieve with your social media marketing strategy. Do you want to gain new customers? Do you want to build relationships with your customers? Do you want to be more visible on the platform? Knowing your objectives beforehand will help figure out what you need to do and how to do it.
- Know Your Demographic
Knowing your target audience is also important in social media marketing. This will determine how you’ll talk to them.
For example, there are notable differences in the way different generations speak. The older generations tend to be more conservative and family-loving, while the younger ones are more carefree and more socially aware of environmental, political, and socio-economical issues.
The social media platforms you use are also important. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are used by all generations, while TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are widely used among those under 30.
- Have a Schedule
Carefully plan out your schedule. This will help keep track of your posts.
Have a day for posting new content, another for brainstorming and writing, and another for responding to comments. It’s best to stagger this, so you’re updating at least once a day.
Strategize times too. Releasing content when everybody’s asleep isn’t going to be helpful. Make sure to post when traffic is high, and also account for foreign customers by checking time zones.
- Plan Content
You should have diverse content. This ensures everybody in your audience has something interesting to read. As a social media agency in Los Angeles, we have articles on SEO, digital marketing, social media marketing, and web design.
If it’s hard for you to churn out new content regularly, take inspiration from other articles on the web. You’re bound to discover new ideas you can turn into an article. But, always remember to never plagiarize and credit writers as necessary.
- Use Hashtags
Hashtags are an essential part of any social media marketing strategy. Twitter uses it, Instagram uses it, Facebook uses it, TikTok uses it… you get the drill.
We recommend using All Hashtag to help you. It shows the most popular hashtags in a category, helps you generate hashtags, and gives you data on hashtags. And it’s free!
Just remember not to get too crazy. People aren’t going to read a wall of hashtags. Also, keep them as short as possible and capitalize to separate words.
- Interact with Your Audience
Social media is a great way to have your customers involved in the business process.
For example, you could host a challenge on TikTok and encourage customers to complete it too. In 2019, Chipotle had a #GuacDance hashtag that challenged customers to dance for free guacamole.
Another way to get them involved is by hosting polls or surveys. Why not find out points for improvement from the customers themselves?
Finally, make your content easily shareable. People love sharing things that make them happy!
- Make an Effort
Take some time to proofread content, take high-quality photos and images, and release interesting content. If you’re not going to put effort into your marketing strategy, your customers aren’t going to put effort into buying from you, either.
- Have Some Personality
Social media is a place where people relax and have fun. Let loose a little and have some fun with your content!
If you own a makeup brand, for example, you could release “Get Ready with Me,” “My Boyfriend Does My Makeup,” or “Doing My Makeup in the Dark” videos. You could even release seasonal makeup looks that are Christmas-themed or Valentine-themed!
- Track Competition
As the saying goes, keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Take a look at your competitors’ hashtags, marketing strategy, content, followers, and others to be inspired. If it works for them, it should work for you, too, right?
You could also make friends with them! You can interact with each other’s posts, follow each other, collaborate, etc. It’d be nice to have somebody to rely on!
- Advertising Products
Don’t lose sight of what you’re doing—promoting your product.
Have them featured in your content. If you’re posting photos or videos, have the product as the star. If you’re posting content, make it relevant to what you’re selling.
Make the product page easily accessible too. You want to have visible links so customers can click and buy in an instant. Offer discounts, coupon codes, and free shipping if you can so they’ll be encouraged further.
Conclusion
Using social media is a great opportunity to expand your brand. It lets you connect with your audience and increase visibility like never before. We hope our article was helpful to you and your business, and we’re very excited to see what you come up with.