Tag Archives: ROI social media marketing

The Complete Beginner’s Guide To Social Media Marketing

Organic SEO, SEO, Small Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing, ,

twitter-mobileHave you avoided a move towards social media marketing? For the uninitiated, social media can seem like a waste of time. But marketing is about more than frittering away time on Facebook. It can be a genuine source of profitable income and could give your SME the traction it needs to grow.

So how do you get started? How can you avoid wasting time on social media? And what tools are there to give you a helping hand?

Planning Your Strategy

Social media marketing is a time-consuming process, so be aware of this from the second you start to plan your strategy. That means:

  • Don’t waste time on networks that aren’t relevant to your industry.
  • Don’t sign up for too many networks and attempt to run all of them at once.
  • Don’t write off a network because it looks ‘boring’.

Remember: social media marketing is about using resources wisely. Bad your brand name on every site, by all means (you can use this tool to help). But don’t actively use every single network on the web. Put some in reserve and concentrate on the key networks first.

The networks you use will vary depending on your industry; LinkedIn is surprisingly good for generating referrals for B2B customers, while Facebook excels in generating interest for B2C. If you work in a different niche, such as recruitment, LinkedIn is the obvious choice, but there are other networks you can use too; you’ll find a list in this handy PDF.

Using Automation to Keep Focus

Once you’ve chosen your key networks, you need towork out how to best use your limited time in order to post updates and interact. Many brands choose to oursource this to a social media management company or agency. If you’re going it alone, automated tools can help.

There are two main types of automated social media tools. There are some that distribute one update to different networks by placing them in a queue and posting to a schedule; Buffer is a good example of this. Then, there are others that link social networks together with triggers so that an action on one results in an action on another. For example, you might want a tweet to trigger a Facebook post. Look into Zapier if this sounds useful.

Automation should be used sparingly in social media. The clue’s in the name; you still need to personally interact with fans and followers to get results. But automation gets you part way there by making link posting easier and faster.

Final Thoughts

We’re fast heading towards a world where social media marketing isn’t optional; it’s basically a prerequisite of building a great brand. If you don’t get involved now, it’ll be more difficult to build a presence on social media later when your competitors are more established.

Like SEO, social media is an ongoing activity; a marathon rather than a race. But put the effort in, focus your resources correctly and adjust your approach to fit your niche, and soon you’ll reap the rewards.

By Sam Wright

Sam Wright is an SEO expert and writer. If you’re looking to advance your marketing career, Sam recommends taking a look at the Brand Republic job boards.

Getting the Most ROI From Your Social Media

content marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing, , , ,

Getting the Most ROI From Your Social MediaSocial media is very common for today’s business and many brands are doing all they can to establish themselves via these platforms. As many big brands have learned social can be a very challenging platform when it comes to measuring return on investment.

For companies that developed on conventional metrics and advertising models, it can be troubling understanding how valuable the online ROI is to their brand. Luckily, there are several must-know social media ROI growth tools that can be used to help succeed in this emerging marketing area.

Engage

The internet is full of user-generated content, chatter, tweets, videos and blog posts. You can empower participation by addressing customer concerns, fixing problems and harnessing the authority of brand advocates.

Remember, it is easier to fix problems than it is to ignore them. People are looking to interact and establish relationships with brands on the web. Indulging those fans through social interactions, real replies and product giveaways separate the companies or businesses that succeed from those that get stuck in the dark.

Keep Content High Quality

You should make sure that all content you publish is premium. Take advantage of Tumblr, social media and WordPress to craft strong messages. Be familiar with the rules and ensure you follow them.

Each network calls for a particular approach and language (Facebook posts are not written in a similar manner as tweets for example). Abide by a calendar for posting, and center on making the followers feel as part of the brand’s family. Applying platforms solely as selling instruments rapidly alienates clients. Employ social media experts and fight the lure to convert websites into content farms or computerized feeds.

Be Real

It is impossible to fake it on the web. You might think you have it all under control but people will smell your lies, and this will not go well for your brand. Very committed brand advocates who support your product will be the initial ones to make a noise when they sense shady behaviour or content which does not tie in with the brand culture.

When unsure, it is advisable to ask your community for assistance whenever it comes to content (they will appreciate being taken into consideration).

Incorporate Real-Time Apps

Integrate social media in all aspects of what you do. A good number of companies using Twitter feeds, ratings, reviews and comments on homepages have increased user engagement. Although this might sound very easy, adding these tools is very crucial. It empowers users to connect and share content. Moreover, constant updating betters search engine visibility more than pages that are static.

Experiment

If you do not risk something, you will gain nothing. This is true, particularly as far as social is concerned. Test tone, style as well as fresh monetizing tools, for example ‘native advertising’, which supplies sponsored content, Facebook stories and also tweets. As social media is always changing it is very important to keep experimenting with new strategies and tools to keep at the very forefront of this medium.

Our guest blogger, Jon, works with many large brands social media accounts in Perth. When not on the laptop, he is out surfing the waves of the Australian coast.

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