Social media marketing is a powerful way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and customers. People discover, learn about, follow, and shop from brands on social media. So if you’re not on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, you’re missing out. Great marketing on social media can bring remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand advocates and even driving leads and sales.
- What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
- Why Is Social Media Marketing So Powerful?
- How Social Media Marketing Works
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
- Tracking Metrics
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing
- What Is Sticky Content in Social Media Marketing?
- What Is Viral Marketing in Social Media Marketing?
- What Is Earned Media in Social Media Marketing?
- What Are Some Examples of Social Media Marketing Strategies?
- How Can One Get Started in Social Media Marketing?
- The Bottom Line
What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
SMM also known as digital marketing and e-marketing which is the use of social media platforms on which users build social networks. They share information to build a company’s brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
In addition to providing companies with a way to engage with existing customers and reach new ones. SMM has purpose-built data analytics that allow marketers to track the success of their efforts and identify even more ways to engage.
Why Is Social Media Marketing So Powerful?
The power SMM is driven by the unparalleled capacity of social media. In three core marketing areas: connection, interaction, and customer data.
Connection: Not only does social media enable businesses to connect with customers in ways that were previously impossible. But there is also an extraordinary range of avenues to connect with target audiences. From content platforms like YouTube and social sites like Facebook to microblogging services like Twitter.
Interaction: The dynamic nature of the interaction on social media whether direct communication or passive “liking” enables businesses to leverage free advertising. Opportunities from eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) recommendations between existing and potential customers.
Not only is the positive contagion effect from eWOM a valuable driver of consumer decisions. But the fact that these interactions happen on the social network makes them measurable. For example, businesses can measure their “Social Equity” a term for the Return On Investment (ROI) from their social media marketing (SMM) campaigns.
Customer Data: A well-designed social media marketing (SMM) plan delivers another invaluable resource to boost marketing outcomes: customer data. Rather than being overwhelmed by the 3Vs of big data (volume, variety, and velocity). SMM tools have the capacity not only to extract customer data but also to turn this gold into actionable. Market analysis or even to use the data to crowdsource new strategies.
How Social Media Marketing Works
As platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram took off, social media transformed not only the way. We connect with one another but also the way businesses are able to influence consumer behavior. From promoting content that drives engagement to extracting geographic, demographic, and personal information that makes messaging resonate with users.
SMM Action Plan: The more targeted your social media marketing (SMM) strategy is, the more effective it will be. Hootsuite, a leading software provider in the social media management space, recommends the following action plan to build an SMM campaign. That has an execution framework as well as performance metrics:5
- Align SMM goals to clear business objectives
- Learn your target customer (age, location, income, job title, industry, interests)
- Conduct a competitive analysis on your competition (successes and failures)
- Audit your current SMM (successes and failures)
- Create a calendar for SMM content delivery
- Create best-in-class content
- Track performance and adjust SMM strategy as needed
Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
Compared to traditional marketing, social media marketing has several distinct advantages, including the fact that SMM has two kinds of interaction that enable targeted.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools: In other words, while traditional marketing tracks customer value primarily by capturing purchase activity. SMM can track customer value both directly (through purchases) and indirectly (through product referrals).
Shareable Content: Businesses can also convert the amplified interconnectedness of SMM into the creation of “sticky” content, the marketing term for attractive content that engages customers at first glance, gets them to purchase products, and then makes them want to share the content.
This kind of word-of-mouth advertising not only reaches an otherwise inaccessible audience, but also carries the implicit endorsement of someone the recipient knows and trusts which makes the creation of shareable content one of the most important ways that social media marketing drives growth.
Earned Media: Social media marketing (SMM) is also the most efficient way for a business to reap the benefits of another kind of earned media (a term for brand exposure from any method other than paid advertising): customer-created product reviews and recommendations.
Viral Marketing: Another SMM strategy that relies on the audience to generate the message is Viral Marketing. A sales technique that attempts to trigger the rapid spread of word-of-mouth product information. Once a marketing message is being shared with the general public far beyond the original target audience, it is considered viral—a very simple and inexpensive way to promote sales
Customer Segmentation: Because customer segmentation is much more refined on social media marketing (SMM) than on traditional marketing channels. Companies can ensure they focus their marketing resources on their exact target audiences.
Tracking Metrics
According to Sprout Social, the most important social media marketing (SMM) metrics to track are focused on the customer: engagement (likes, comments, shares, clicks). Impressions (how many times a post shows up); reach/virality (how many unique views an SMM post has). Share of voice (how far a brand reaches in the online sphere); referrals (how a user lands on a site); and conversions (when a user makes a purchase on a site). However, another very important metric is focused on the business response rate/time (how often and how fast the business responds to customer messages).
When a business is trying to determine which metrics to track in the sea of data that social media generates, the rule is always to align each business goal to a relevant metric. If your business goal is to grow conversions from an SMM campaign by 15% within three months. Then use a social media analytics tool that measures the effectiveness of your campaign against that specific target.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing
Tailored social media marketing (SMM) campaigns that instantly reach a range of target audiences are clearly advantageous to any business.
But like any social media content SMM campaigns can leave a company open to attack. For example, a viral video claiming that a product causes illness or injury must be addressed immediately whether the claim is true or false. Even if a company can set the record straight, false viral content can make consumers less likely to purchase in the future.
What Is Sticky Content in Social Media Marketing?
Sticky content is the marketing term for attractive content that engages customers at first glance. Then influences them not only to purchase products but also to share the content.
What Is Viral Marketing in Social Media Marketing?
Viral marketing is an SMM strategy that attempts to trigger the rapid spread of word-of-mouth product information a very simple and inexpensive way to promote sales.
What Is Earned Media in Social Media Marketing?
Earned media is a marketing term for brand exposure from any method other than paid advertising, e.g., customer-created content ranging from product reviews and recommendations to shares, reposts, and mentions.
What Are Some Examples of Social Media Marketing Strategies?
Social media marketing has grown to include several techniques and strategies to engage users and market products and services. These include audience-targeted advertising, the use of interactive chatbots, creating personalized experiences for customers online, the use of social media influencers, building an online audience, and so on.
How Can One Get Started in Social Media Marketing?
To start working in social media marketing, it is good to have at least a bachelors degree in marketing or a related field. Then, it’s critical to gain a good understanding of how marketing campaigns work on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. After that, showcase your talents by creating compelling and effective content. Follow influencers and other social media marketers to learn what they are doing well and where they fall flat. Together, use these steps to create a personal brand that you can use to sell yourself and your work.
The Bottom Line
Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms to interact with customers to build brands, increase sales, and drive website traffic. As social media usage grows around the world, both via computer and mobile devices. The ability to drive sales from certain user populations is a growing business, rife with competition for views and clicks.