The average billboard costs about US$ 2,000 a month. If up to a hundred thousand people in a city see it, the cost per impression would be 2¢. On the other hand, imagine a post on Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, reaching millions monthly active users, and costing less because organic social media posts are free.
The fact that this situation is not uncommon shows social media marketing’s scale and power. So if businesses handle their social media marketing strategically, they can reach more people at lower costs than most other marketing techniques would allow.
Read on to discover what social media involves and how brands can use it to boost their reach in 2024 and beyond.
Table of Contents
The pros and cons of social media marketing
8 tips to help retailers create the perfect social media strategy
Bottom line
The pros and cons of social media marketing
Increased sales
Successful social media marketing campaigns often boost brand recognition, increase website traffic, and generate more leads. More importantly, these results translate to higher sales and profit.
Strong return on investment (ROI)
Since posting on social media accounts is almost free, this marketing strategy is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach new people. It becomes even more apparent when businesses compare organic social media marketing to more expensive and limited traditional marketing channels (like print ads and billboards).
Improved customer relationships
Businesses can use social networks to interact directly with their customer base. It’s a great way to address concerns and answer questions quickly. For that reason, businesses can have more positive interactions and, ultimately, improve their brand perception and customer relationships.
The downsides of social media marketing
Despite its vast benefits, social media marketing has its significant downsides. Developing a solid social media presence (especially organically) can cost time and effort. For example, brands may need to create over 20 weekly posts on their key platforms and dedicate two hours daily to community interaction management.
Unfortunately, the process often requires technical knowledge in graphic design, content writing, photography, customer service, and videography, meaning businesses may have to hire social media managers. Small brands may be unable to meet these demands internally and spend money on outsourcing.
Additionally, while social media has more promise than traditional channels, it still has some limits. For starters, marketing efforts can only reach active users. Businesses may have to use other marketing strategies if the target audience is offline.
8 tips to help retailers create the perfect social media strategy
1. Define specific goals
The first step in creating an effective social media marketing strategy is defining goals that align with business objectives. Brands should determine what they want with social media efforts before diving into the marketing strategy. Goals can include driving website traffic, boosting customer engagement, increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or improving customer satisfaction.
Once businesses set these goals, they can break them into more actionable steps. It will help pinpoint what they must do to achieve their goals. For instance, if the goal is increasing website traffic through social media, the steps may include posting more frequently, running target ad campaigns, and optimizing content for sharing.
2. Set the budget for those goals
A goal would remain unachievable if businesses don’t have the required budget. Hence, retailers must decide how much time and money they can realistically spend on achieving their set goals. They should also factor in the potential cost of promoting posts, hiring freelancers/agencies, or employing someone to manage social media campaigns.
Here’s an example of a goal that matches business objectives and fits within a budget. If retailers want to generate more leads (around 10% more) next year, the target would be to increase traffic to gated landed pages by 25%, understanding that all visitors won’t become leads.
With a larger budget, brands may raise the target to 35% because of the more available resources. While budget-tight businesses will stick to organic efforts, those with more free cash may consider paid posts or influencer marketing to reach their goals faster.
3. Examine the audience and buyer personas
Setting goals and budgets is just one part of the beginning. Next, businesses must identify their buyer personas and audience, so brands know what to target. When businesses target the right needs and interests, their content will attract the right responses that help them meet their set goals.
For instance, a company selling trendy joggers and leggings may target millennials interested in stylish athletic wear (or athleisure). Tailoring content to target buyer personas and audiences will help keep it relevant and attract more followers.
Pro Tip: Gather feedback from followers to understand their preferences, pain points, and satisfaction levels. This data helps improve strategies and refine buyer personas.
4. Choose the preferred platform for marketing efforts
Social media marketers must choose the right platforms for their efforts. Experts don’t advise retailers to rely on a defined list of the hottest social channels. Instead, they should consider their target audience’s needs and where they spend more time.
Andrew Delaney, a social media marketing expert, says businesses must always be on their target’s favorite channels and extend their reach to where they may use tomorrow. For social media marketing, brands must be ahead of the curve. For instance, Gen Z prefers TikTok—and if that’s the target audience, it’s better to take marketing efforts to where they are.
But, if athleisure-loving millennials are the focus, Instagram would be the better channel to reach them. Wherever the audience prefers hanging out online, use it for social media marketing. Businesses must avoid wasting time on platforms without their target audience.
5. Determine the metrics and KPIs that deserve more focus
A social media strategy should be data-driven, regardless of the goals or industry. This fact means businesses must focus more on critical social media metrics over those without value. The key metrics to track include reach, clicks, engagement, hashtag performance, organic/paid likes, and sentiment.
6. Study the competition
Whether businesses are new to social media marketing or have years of experience, they must understand the industry’s current state. This part is where competitive analysis comes in handy. It helps identify the competitors, what they do well, and what they lack. What’s the benefit of this knowledge? It creates a clear picture of industry expectations and helps brands set social media targets.
For instance, if a big competitor focuses more on Facebook but neglects Twitter and Instagram, focus more on these less-served networks. This approach helps create diverse strategies and build a presence where audiences are eager for new content—without dropping efforts on successful platforms like Facebook.
Pro tip: Monitor competitor’s customer reviews to understand what their customers like and dislike. Focusing on common complaints and recurring themes, they reveal pain points that brands can address in their strategy.
7. Ensure content is unique and engaging
Billions of people use social media worldwide, meaning many followers have seen the competitors’ offerings and content. Hence, brands need engaging social media content that stands out and encourages viewers to follow and interact. But that’s not all. Engaging content benefits from social media algorithms—the more engaging it is, the higher the chances of reaching interested users.
To create engaging content, brands should conduct market research to understand their audience’s preferences. Check the example below to see what it looks like:
- Consumers engage most with visual content, such as images, photos, infographics (53%), and short-form videos (44%).
- Millennials prefer short-form videos, while Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X enjoy video content most.
- Relatable content is most memorable, with funny content particularly engaging for Gen Z and Millennials.
Brands should also use platform features, share user-generated content, and follow social media trends. Joining trends early ensures brands get the full benefits of authenticity and maximizes engagement.
8. Review and adjust when necessary
Social media changes constantly, so retailers must review their strategies in real-time to stay current. They can set a routine for reviewing strategies—maybe monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on what businesses need. Then, brands can use these reviews to assess what’s working or performing poorly while detecting new opportunities.
During these reviews, businesses should check their progress toward social media goals. How? They can compare their current performance against KPIs and benchmarks. They can stay updated with the latest trends and monitor algorithm changes and new user behaviors if they need to be improved. For example, if a business heavily relies on Twitter, consider the implications of its rebranding to X and the new competitors since Elon Musk’s acquisition.
Bottom line
Social media marketing can be super effective, but brands may lose the benefits if they don’t have a schedule in place. Businesses can use social media management tools to ensure their content posting follows a plan. These tools allow brands to create captions, add pictures/videos, and schedule posts in advance. Some great examples include HubSpot, Sprout Social, and Hootsuite. So, after making the perfect strategy using these tips, businesses can use these tools to ensure a frequent posting schedule for a better brand image.
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