Why A Strategic Approach Is Critical In Social Media Marketing
There’s social media marketing… and then there’s effectively implementing a strategic approach that will maximize impact and deliver desired results. Now considered the second most important marketing channel (and rising quickly), spending on social media advertising reached $80 billion by the end of last year.
Truthfully, a lot of the spending is thrown at a product or service, desperately hoping the investment comes back with a bountiful ROI. However, navigating to a murky destination without the aid of a map will always get the hapless driver lost.
Social media marketing strategy must have some sort of master plan — a map that has a clearly drawn path to a brand’s final destination and positions ads to the more than four billion social media users worldwide.
Organization
Organized marketers that have an established strategic approach are 674% more likely to report success; proactive planners are also three times more likely to be satisfied with their results. Having a documented strategy directly impacts social marketing success, with 414% more likely to embark on a successful campaign.
Crucially, tracking data must be observed through consistent and organized documentation. Measurable gatherings should be done daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly across an active campaign to trace granular progress over time. Baseline metrics should be jotted down promptly and compared to annually managed data.
Branding
Brands do not need to be present on every social media channel. Each must be selected as appropriate to audience demographics. Selectiveness is crucial here; for instance, you don’t want to be using TikTok to appeal to mature adults and/or seniors.
At the outset, if the brand utilizes more than one social channel, the message should be aligned, even if the content is different. Narrowing down ideal targets needs to be as specific as possible. Unfortunately, only 55% of social media marketers explore target audience demos. To make date-driven decisions, there are necessary demographics to consider: age, location, income, interests, and need.
Budgeting
Somehow, only 30% of brands track their ROI. Relevant traffic, engagements, and conversions must be backed by a budget. Chaotic Good Director of Social Media Jon-Stephen Stansel put it best: “Not giving your social media team the budget for the tools they need is like hiring a pilot and refusing to buy fuel for the plane.”
Advertising is a diverse investment proposition when it comes to social and for good reason.
For purchasing decisions, 59% of consumers claim that these ads are an influential information source. Multichannel campaigns need to be reviewed to determine how much to allocate for each channel. Brand collaborations and the booming creator economy herds new customers through the virtual door. Tracking social metrics also reevaluates and offers recommendations on how to get more buy-in for the budget.
Curation
Here’s a disturbing stat: 96% of individuals that discuss brands online don’t follow those brand's own profile. When establishing an online social presence, a strong content marketing plan is one of the most important considerations. HubSpot stated that nearly half of marketers focused on reaching new audiences through social media last year. Producing engaging and eye-catching content could prove beneficial.
Generally speaking, social media marketing abides by The Rule Of Thirds. This concept is split into the following: 1/3 promoting products or services to drive traffic; 1/3 interacting with others through conversations for networking and developing relationships; 1/3 linking to relevant content and serving as an industry leader to maintain trust. Content calendars must outline time, topics, networks, and frequency of posts.
Tracking
There is no strategic approach without measurable results. It is a crucial responsibility to govern both content creation and community management. However, social media marketing is nothing without metrics and KPIs. Analytics tools inform the starting point, objectives, and effectiveness of a campaign.
Monitoring impressions and reach could gauge the effectiveness of both paid and organic ads and content, determining how the audience moves through marketing funnels. If a goal is to drive interest in a specific event or attraction, these variables may not be ideal. Instead, click-throughs to a landing page could be more indicative of an ads reception.
Simply put, online marketing permits the tools to measure just about everything. It’s up to the social media marketing team to determine what should be monitored and measured to optimize the customer experience.
Social media marketing strategy will always evolve. Fortunately, it’s never set in stone. As new products and services emerge, we at Firebelly Marketing want to adapt to your strategy. Drop us a line and let’s talk about your social media marketing goals.