As if society isn’t complicated enough, some genius had to go and take things online – another web of complication! Online trends come and go in a blink, and advice on how to manage accounts seems to change so fast.
As marketers with commercial interests behind our posts, it can be tempting to throw in the towel and start sticking pamphlets on light poles instead.
But we must persevere! The rewards of a successful social media campaign are just too juicy to pass up.
So how can we harness this endless stream of society and use it to achieve measurable marketing objectives? How to yell into the echo chamber just a little louder than the rest of our competitors?
Things become especially difficult when you consider that a good social media post takes the skills of copywriters, designers, and may require paid ads experts.
Fortunately, as a white label digital marketing agency, Agency Stack offers all of the above and can support your social media campaigns from go to woah.
So, without further ado, here’s a few hot tips to rake in the conversions through social media.
Set Some Goals
You’ll find it difficult to achieve your marketing objectives without setting any.
Some common social media goals include an increase in followers, interactions (like, comments, shares), click-throughs, or perhaps the use of a promotion code.
Whatever your goals, just make sure they’re SMART. You may have learned this acronym in high school, but it’s always worth returning to.
Specific: particularly narrow goals keep you on task and make them easier to achieve than broad goals which have too many steps and KPIs. Followers, interactions etc. all provide good examples.
Measurable: when all is said and done, there should be tangible evidence to prove your success. If your goals are abstract and qualitative, they will be harder to prove. Try aiming for a total number of followers or sales conversions through social media.
Attainable: sure, you can aim high. But make sure to set an achievable timeframe in which you can reach them. Setting unattainable goals will only lead to a disheartened team. Hoping to hit $1 million revenue in your first year may not be the best way to go for a new business owner.
Relevant: goals which don’t align with your values and long-term objectives are like working off an upside down map – you’ll only make progress in the wrong direction. If your IT business is interested in selling expensive software, you’ll find little value in accruing Instagram followers.
Time-based: related to being attainable, your goals should have a realistic and ambitious end-date, giving you a sense of urgency and motivation.
By ticking off each of these interrelated points, your social media will be given more direction and success will move that little bit closer.
Use a Cross-Platform Approach
There are so many social media platforms entering calculations these days, it can be overwhelming to choose which content goes where.
The benefit of a cross-platform approach is you can save time by posting the same content on each platform.
This allows you to easily reach a wider audience than simply posting one thing on one platform, but there are drawbacks to this relaxed strategy.
When you dive deeper, each platform has its own unique function in society – just as a carpenter and a lawyer might respond differently to the same ad, you shouldn’t expect different platforms to bring the same results.
For more professional content with industry-specific information, try LinkedIn. This is a place for “thought leaders,” where people can build on ideas from like-minded professionals.
To share a specific link and increase click-through traffic, Twitter has proven to be effective. While you can’t convey much information in 280 characters, a link to your blog can take its place.
If your content is visually appealing and potentially targets a younger demographic, we recommend becoming well-acquainted with Instagram. The social superpower still holds a lot of sway in the retail world, though it’s quickly being overtaken by TikTok.
There are plenty more platforms to make use of, so get in touch with Agency Stack to understand how to optimise your social media campaign.
The other aspect of a cross-platform approach is scheduling the beast. This relates to the time of day of each post as well as the regularity of each platform. These aspects are further complicated when your business appeals to multiple time zones.
Before creating and scheduling a whole bunch of content, make sure you consider when people will be using each platform. LinkedIn users, for example, are less likely to visit the site while they’re sitting in a mid-morning meeting. Instead, aim for the beginning or the end of their work day as they clock on and off.
On Instagram, most studies show that nighttime posts will be seen by fewer people, while posting anytime Sundays is a no-go.
Just another consideration in tackling your social strategy.
Don’t Overstretch Yourself
With all of this said, it’s important to only post as much as you can manage. This is because regularity is just as important as the quality of your individual posts. Irregular posting can not only upset the platform’s algorithm and lead to less impressions, but your audience will never know when to expect another post.
If you can only commit to one post per week on two different platforms, that’s totally acceptable. So long as you understand you won’t build your audience as fast. What’s most important is committing to it and working your way up to multiple posts on multiple platforms. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Keeping within your limits will also see the quality of your posts improve because you can put time into creating meaningful content. Regularity is important, but content that your audience can value is vital to hold their attention.
Social Listening
This should be performed before, during and after your campaign. If you don’t understand what people are saying about your company, how can you address the issues and play to your strengths?
Take at least 5 minutes every day to observe the conversations people are having about your business on public platforms. Browse reviews, comment sections, and any posts mentioning your brand.
This should continue once you start posting regularly and understand how people are reacting to your new campaign. Then, once your campaign comes to an end and your goals are achieved (or not), take stock of how your brand’s perception has changed. Perception isn’t a measurable goal unless you survey it, otherwise don’t count this as a SMART metric. Instead, use what you’ve learned to feed into your next campaign.
Interact with the Public
It’s one thing to post content to social media, but it’s another to focus on your community engagement. This relates not to the posts themselves, but your mediation of comments and reviews to ensure your followers feel heard and understood.
Take their feedback and discussion on board and use it to contribute to the conversation. By simply appearing friendly and approachable, you can humanise your brand and make it harder for people to speak poorly of you.
Ask and answer questions of your audience, create contests and in-jokes with them, offer loyalty discounts and welcome user-generated content. A community is more likely to take part in your product than a crowd of individual customers.
Partner with a White Label Marketing Agency
One of the best decisions you can make when managing a social media account – or multiple accounts – is to take advantage of Agency Stack’s expert team. We offer copywriters, designers, paid ad experts, performance analysts, and account managers to keep your clients on the digital map.
Social media is now an integral part of any marketing campaign, so don’t miss out on the benefits that understanding it can bring. Contact Agency Stack today.