It’s no secret that consumers love social media.   You know you should be posting lots of images, offers and videos but many marketers aren’t sure what works.

This video will share several tips & strategies that will help make your social media campaigns more successful.

Prefer to read?   Just scroll past the video.

Social Media Marketing Tips for Beginners

When it comes to buying just about anything, social media sites have become a major influence in the consumers decision making.     Most advertisers understand that social media should be part of their strategy.  We all know we should have a company page and be posting lots of pictures and videos.  With more and more time being spent with social media, I believe that marketers need to step up and get fully engaged.

During the next few minutes, I’ll be discussing a few ways that you can get better results from your social media marketing efforts.    To help you plan your social strategy, here are a few tips &  tactics you can use to boost engagement, interest and communication with potential customers.

So let’s start with the obvious  –  you need to come to the realization that this is social media.  With the main emphasis on the word social.   While some users do use these platforms to look for products & recommendations, most are there for the social element.   They’re looking for pictures of family, friends, reunions, sporting events.  Fun stuff.  They did not login to hear about your new shipment of whatever just arrived. 

And unfortunately, most marketers are guilty of what I call the product dump.  Every post screams new arrival   –  just in   –  just in time for the holidays.   And those same marketers quickly get frustrated when no one engages with their content.

I encourage you to resist the urge to participate in the product dump.  Instead, take a more personal approach.  Instead of featuring your products, showcase your customers.  People relate to other people.   Share a story of how you helped that customer.   chances are pretty good others are in the same situation and can relate.  You’ve now made a more personal connection.

Another great tactic is to showcase your people.   You know this – people buy from people and the places they know, like and trust.   Social media is a great platform to showcase your people and connect with consumers.   You could create &  schedule a weekly “get to know this team member” type post.    I guarantee your engagement rate will be much higher than the typical product dump.

Next tip  –  if you want better engagement, participate before you post.  I get it – you’ve got a lot of stuff on your to do list.  And all you want to do is publish your post and get on with it.  Before you create that post and hit publish, spend 5 to 10 minutes engaging with your customers & your audiences’ posts.  Show your customers –  and the algorithms – that you care.  Like a few posts.  Share some of their content.  Make a few comments.   You’ll see that the platforms will start rewarding you for your participation.

Which leads me to this tactic  –  quality beats quantity every time.  We all want to jump on every platform and post as much as possible.   You will find much greater success when you focus your efforts by really understanding and participating with one or 2 platforms and providing really good content versus trying to be everywhere with posts no one is engaging with.    

Video   –  it’s time for marketers to commit to a video strategy.   With 65% of the population being visually oriented,  and most of them preferring video, I think it’s time for you to give ‘em what they want.

You’ll benefit 2 ways:  First – Consumers get to watch a video which is what they prefer to do.   Second  –  you’ll satisfy the search engines & social media platforms as they are  putting a lot of weight behind properly optimized videos. 

Tell stories.  It’s not enough to just post and broadcast content.  Consumers are looking for a human connection. Storytelling on social sites is a perfect way to interact with your audience to develop relationships.  Use social platforms as a conversation channel rather than an advertising channel. Stories will help you sell a lot more.

And my final tip:  Create Social-Only Promotions.  The goal with social is to create content that will engage consumers. And since everyone loves a deal, discount or special offer, this can prove very effective.   Just don’t over-do it or your “deal” won’t be believable.  Get creative and reward your social followers with promotions and contests only available only on your social pages.  

If all this sounds like too much work  –  you do have another option.  Just buy an ad.   Every platform would be more than happy to take your cash and drop your post into someones feed.   You still might not get a lot of engagement  –  but people will see it.

If you do it right, I believe that Social media marketing provides enormous benefits including more visibility, more leads, and ultimately, more sales. 

Thanks again for watching this video.   I really hoped you found this information helpful as you work to build a super successful, sales driving ad campaign.