Advertising

Much of social media marketing is free -- with the exception of resource time and
specialized tools. Building an audience and publishing content on free social media
sites is a great way to achieve marketing goals, but as the program grows, so does
the budget.

Paid marketing features can be very valuable to organizations. They can target
their advertisements at audiences based on many factors, including demographic
information, retargeting and behaviors.

There are tools to help manage social media marketing at volume, but using the
native ads functionality to begin is enough to promote posts, capture leads and
ensure messages get in front of the right audience.

Advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing

Social media marketing has embedded itself into every organization's sales and
marketing roadmap. It is an additional channel to distribute content and messaging
to a significantly larger audience than a homegrown database of contacts.

While there are advantages to rolling out a social media marketing program, there
are disadvantages as well.

Advantages of social media marketing

 Reach a wider audience. There are more than 3.6 billion users across
all social media channels. A single post share can exponentially increase
brand exposure.

 Improved customer satisfaction. Organizations don't just market to

customers on social media, they also interact with them. This can
improve customer service and create one-to-one relationships.

 Cost-effective tool. When executed correctly, the cost of managing a

social media program can be low. Once the knowledge, team and
 program strategy are in place, marketing teams find it easy to use with
very little overhead.

 Increase website traffic. Social posts are a great way to drive traffic

back to a brand website. Promoting blog content, landing page offers and
more can entice users to click through and engage further with a brand.

 Gain better insights. Using the analytics and reporting features from

each social media platform gives insight into who page followers are,
what content they are interested in and how they like to engage with a
brand.

Disadvantages of social media marketing

 Time-consuming process. A lot of time can be spent on social media

campaigns to ensure they are effective. Marketing teams also need to
constantly fill the calendar with new content and respond to inquiries.
This can make it difficult for small marketing teams to tap into the full
capabilities of SMM.

 Need qualified resources. It takes the right person or team to run a

social media marketing program. Social media marketing programs don't
benefit from entry-level employees. Instead, skilled and seasoned social
media marketers are key.

 Have to wait to see ROI. SMM is a long-term investment. Social media

platforms yield a high ROI, but not in the form of immediate results. The
success of an SMM program isn't determined by one piece of content,
but rather several over long periods of time.

 Competitor's market research. Posting to social media is a public

forum and everyone can see the content, including the competition.
There is no workaround for this.

 Brand reputation is vulnerable. SMM can open a brand for public

embarrassment and bad press. Negative reviews can be plentiful as
customers take to social media to vent frustrations. And because of the
public nature of the platforms, anything a company says or does will be
 seen and reacted to. Brands should expedite response times to mitigate
this risk.
How to create a social media marketing strategy
Here are the steps a company needs to take to build an effective social media
marketing strategy:

1. Identify social media goals that align to the business goals

Start by setting goals that will act as not only a guide for how to use social media,
but also a benchmark of data to measure against. Use a SMART goal format to
find out what is realistic to accomplish. Examples of goals include the following:

 increase traffic to website

 drive more leads

 increase revenue

 grow audience

2. Research and define the target audience

It's important to know who the target market is, what they care about and why they
need a company's products or services. Social media platforms are rich with data
about users, so this exercise can be done without a substantial market research
project. Knowing demographic information and who follows the social channel are
great starting points.

It's also important to know that different platforms attract different users. Knowing
what social channels a company's target audience is on enables them to choose
which channels to invest time and resources into.
 Here
are some of the more popular social media platforms and the uses for each.

3. Perform a competitive assessment

Knowing what the competition is doing enables marketing teams to identify what
is working well and what is not for the competition. This provides industry insights
as well as opportunities to bring a product or message to market.

Social listening tools can also help brands set up different monitoring streams for
competitive content and industry keywords.

4. Create and curate relevant content for the channel

Knowing the goals, audience and competitive landscape will help determine the
type(s) of content that brands need to create. Engaging content comes in different
forms and media. It can be company generated, curated from elsewhere to share
industry news or other thought leadership pieces.
Businesses should publish content frequently and consistently to develop an
engaged follower base. Brands can post promotions to increase engagement. They
can also create posts that show a more relatable and human side to the
organization.   

5. Be timely with posts and responses

Posting when convenient for a business isn't always convenient for customers.
Taking advantage of the best times to post for engagement is information that can
be collected from analytics. Then organizations can schedule posts ahead of time
using available publishing tools. Timeliness of the content is also important as the
news cycle moves fast.

Another element of being timely on social media is response time. If customers

engage with a brand on social media, they also expect a quick reply. A brand can
build authority and respect with its clientele through these one-to-one relationships.

6. Gain buy-in and support from others in the organization

Marketing departments need to engage other departments and stakeholders within

an organization. Marketing can learn a lot from sales to inform future social
campaigns, but sales can also benefit from marketing's reach. Sales and marketing
alignment is great, but senior stakeholder support is also a necessity.

Supporting other departments' efforts is a common sign of a strong social media

program. Every department in a company can benefit from social support, but HR
is usually the next best place to partner with. Social media can be a recruitment
tool and brand builder for prospective employees.

7. Measure and optimize

The last element of building a successful social media marketing program is to

measure what works and what doesn't. Organizations should monitor the
following:

 posts that get top engagement;

  followers that continue to buy; and

 ads that yield the highest ROI.

Businesses that benefit from social media marketing
Organizations that roll out an effective social media marketing campaign will see
many benefits. Here are some examples of businesses that can benefit from social
media marketing programs:

Small businesses and startups

Social media marketing is a great tool for small businesses and startups. It is a way
for new businesses to build some awareness around their offerings. Using social
media to sell products and services to a new market can be an entryway into
building a customer base.

Direct sales companies

These types of businesses are very entrepreneurial and grow through communities.
And social media can help build communities, tapping into friends, family and
beyond.

These started out as Tupperware and Mary Kay parties in homes. But social media
apps are paving the way for new waves of direct sales companies such as LuLaRoe
and Thirty-One Gifts. Party hosts no longer must host parties in their homes.
Instead, they can host virtual parties using social media apps where consultants are
able to show off their wares.  

Real estate

Real estate companies benefit from social media by promoting open houses and
showcasing images of properties for sale. Features such as Facebook Live and
Instagram stories show video footage of these properties in digestible formats for
users to consume.

B2B companies
B2B marketing teams are better able to identify who their target prospects are --
and when done correctly -- can show up in the right person's newsfeed.

The data presented about users on social media platforms helps paint a picture of
who the audience is. And using the social media advertising tools, businesses can
get the right message in front of that decision-maker at the right time.