Social networks are one of the most effective tools to promote and attract clients. It is not only big brands that achieve success in social media space. Even small companies and startups unlock their potential, forming a target audience in their niche. But success and profit come only to those who were able to properly organise work in social networks and form the demand for a product or service before the official launch of the business.
Despite the prospects and huge interest in social networks as a direct channel of communication with potential clients, not all owners of small and medium businesses have understood the intricacies of working with them. As a result – lack of clients, sales and complete disappointment in Social Media Marketing (SMM).
The main problem of many small companies and beginning businessmen is a haphazard approach to advancement and actions at random. To get a cool result, you need to structure the work in social networks or clearly form the requirements for the contractor. So how do entrepreneurs organise work with social media, so that even with a minimum budget to get good results?
It is important to understand that business in social networks should work for a single purpose – to bring their owner’s income. It is not possible to earn money and build a loyal audience in social media for free. Like any other advertising tool, social networks require investments, strategies and other resources. However, learning how to use their potential, as well as the possibility of targeted advertising, you will understand that it costs you money.
If your team has an intelligent designer, copywriter or SMM-specialist – great. If not, think about whether you can give your social media communities enough time on a daily basis to prepare and publish a couple of really cool posts, communicate with clients and fully promote themselves?
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A quality SMM requires a lot of time, skills and money to be spent on:
– Writing a unique fascinating text, adapting the material to each social network, creating a content plan and schedule of publications;
– finding or processing images in graphic editors, taking photos, and working with video content;
– setting up targeted advertising, moderating ads, finding new ways to reduce the cost of the target action;
– communicating with subscribers, encouraging involvement and increasing their loyalty;
– reading fresh material on thematic resources, case studies and testing new tools.
Are you ready for this? If not, it is better to have a great SMM team that will back you up.
It is also necessary to calculate what budget you can lay down for targeted advertising campaigns. Keep in mind that social networks are not the same as they used to be. Today it is not enough simply to attract subscribers to the community in one way or another. You still need to make sure that they see your publications in their daily news feed.
For example, the Facebook algorithm works so that your posts will only see a small percentage of your subscribers. That is, no matter how great your material is, only 50-150 of your 1,000 subscribers will see it. And in order to get it to the feed to everyone, you need to promote each publication by paid methods.
Also Read: 6 effortless ways to grow your small business through social media
By the way, Instagram has also taken up the implementation of a similar algorithm of news distribution.
Determine your goals: what do you expect from social networks?
Do you want to attract as many customers as possible within 24 hours? Focus on advertising campaigns that guarantee fast results.
If your goal is long-term prospects and growth, then develop a community whose members will gradually become your clients for a long time. It may take a long time before you build trust in your target audience for a service or brand. However, the social media community is doing its best to meet these challenges.
Make a portrait of the customer. In detail!
Without a detailed portrait of your target audience, setting up your advertising campaign will be simply inefficient. So even if you contact a specialist in promotion in social networks, do not limit yourself to the typical “m / w, 20-60”. Think about where geographically your clients live, what kind of education and range of interests they have, how much they earn, what kind of car they drive, where they rest, what kind of entertainment they prefer to eat, etc. This is the case when there are no many details.
Decide on the channels
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are the four most effective platforms for today. To determine which of them you are on the way, again, ask yourself, which one of them is the most used by your target audience, explore the activities of competitors, look at cases from your industry.
To put it simply, the picture is roughly the same:
- Facebook can be used to help those who target advanced youth, travellers, businessmen, top managers and any other intelligent audience with good-paying capacity. And if you work in B2B segment, Facebook is a must.
- TikTok suits you if you are interested in young and active clients who need Spanchbob cases for iPhone, Korean cosmetics, clothing from China, Converse sneakers on the super discount and handmade. However, as this social media website is fairly new, not everyone understands how to promote their product there. Here’s a great tutorial on how to kick start your account.
- Instagram is what you need if you love and can take many “delicious”, beautiful photos. Fashion, restaurants, travel – you just have to be present on this site!
- YouTube is for those who have something to say or show to the clients. You can use it, for example, for product reviews, expert opinions, or post-training materials on your topic. Having charisma and a good camera is necessary.
It is not worth putting your efforts into all the channels of communication with the customer. It is better to concentrate on a couple of sites that suit you best.
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