Good social media marketing boosts brand awareness

Brand awareness is the extent to which consumers recall or remember a brand. If your brand is often brought up in the conversation and is frequently discussed in several social media platforms- this screams brand awareness.

With so many users taking up spaces across several social media platforms, getting your name out there and maintaining your social media presence is a great way to start things off.

For instance, the latest data reveals that Facebook, the leading social media platform used to target your consumers, has 1.9 billion active users.

How does social media help people to be aware of your brand? Simply put, publishing relatable content which promotes your brand drives up engagement. Social engagement includes likes, comments, reposts, and shares.

One proven technique you can include in your social media strategy is to publish visually appealing content.

The Social Media Examiner reveals that almost 80% of brands (small or large) employ some type of visual content to put their brands on the map. By incorporating your brand in images, you can work your way from brand recognition to brand awareness.        

Through social media advertising, your published content not only gets your name out there- it also drives traffic to your main site.

Experiencing Sales drop? Social media can help!

Brands of different sizes and scales can benefit a lot from social media channels. With the advent of stay-at-home policies and travel restrictions, more and more consumers are shifting to online shopping platforms. These sales can be converted via direct sales method, indirect social media advertising, purchasing ad space or even through influencer marketing.

Though primarily used by large-scale businesses, direct sales can be easily achieved through harnessing the power of several social media channels. 

When your brand finally puts its name out there and builds a solid number of followers, your brand is more likely to get some amount of buy-in from published posts. This can be further boosted by directly pointing to your consumers where they purchase your product/service.

Meanwhile, indirect advertising and promotions can also spice up your business game and convert those engagements to sales. By definition, indirect advertising does not necessarily pint your consumers into purchasing your product. 

For instance, a jewelry brand that publishes content on “how to select the best gift for your lady” does not necessarily advertise their product but still delivers efforts on closing a sale.

Investing in ads can also kick off those sales bars!

While it usually involves higher costs, purchasing ad space for your brand and then matching it with an off-the-chart social media strategy can help your brand reach your target audience and even engage potential customers.

Lastly, you can even increase business sales with the help of influencer marketing. This involves choosing an ideal brand persona that your target customers can relate to. Though it’s a costly marketing strategy, involving some type of influencer can establish the niche of your brand to potential customers.

Learn about your competitor through social media

It’s not business without the dragging pressure of competition. With so many brands on the market competing for consumer’s attention and patronage, keeping up with your business rivals can be a tough call. 

But when used right, social media marketing can be driven to your advantage- making the competition at your home court.

With brands floating across several social media channels, consumers can get too overwhelmed with diverse static content. But as a brand, you can take this plethora of competitors to your advantage. Maintain your competitive edge through a competitive audit.

Competitor audit is a strategic analysis of your competitor brands’ social media presence by evaluating social media statistics to discover what social media strategies are proven to reach target customers.

Competitive audit helps you know how your brand can be positioned in the market, which opportunities you may immerse your brand in- kind of like getting a finger on the pulse of your rival industries.

Customer relationship at its finest

Brands need to be more humanized- making it more relatable, authentic, and relevant to target customers. By connecting with your customers, your brand can be more than just an online shop or an online platform- your customers will feel the essence of your brand, taking them into a richer brand experience.

You can do this by creating authentic content, interacting with their comments, and even responding to their questions.  You can also use this opportunity to determine pain points from the customer’s perspective, making your decision-making process easier.

Now that you know the why’s behind social media marketing, how can you make social media your best business ally?

Audience is the key

Before developing the “what’s” in your social media marketing strategy, you must determine the “who’s” first. Your audience should be at the heart of your strategy from the beginning up to the end (after-sales). This is where buyer personas come into play.

Buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer. This persona helps you understand how your target customers behave and respond to marketing efforts. In turn, this will be a baseline on all your marketing strategies- from curating content which caters a particular demographic even up to utilizing advertisements.

For instance, if you have a skincare line, determine who your target customers are. Go even deeper by researching their preference, interests, and even their background. Which features of skincare products are favored by your customers?

When you have researched the perfect buyer persona and audience profile, you’ll know how to position your brand and what techniques and strategies you can include on your social media plan.

The “Perfect Place” is the Right Platform

The common adage “Fish where the fish are” is completely true in social media marketing. With so many platforms to choose from, it’s easy to simply post on whatever platform you like. But choosing the right platform is as important as publishing your content.

When it comes to choosing the right platform, there are no wrong or right answers. However, not all platforms can effectively target your customers. The answer lies on where your target customers are and which platforms they best engage with.

According to the latest data from Statista, Facebook remains to be the leading platform used by social media marketers (93%). Next to Facebook is Instagram with 78% of marketers utilizing the platform. But is Facebook and Instagram always the best channel?

On choosing the best platform to use, Stephanie Morgan, founder and CEO of a social media agency Social Lock, her recommendation is pretty simple:

“Stop wasting time on a platform where your buyer persona is not very active on.”

For instance, if you are running a skincare brand specifically designed for millennial women, Instagram is the perfect choice for it’s a “hunting ground” for that customer segment.

On the other hand, if you are a B2B company looking for more brands to join you on a venture, LinkedIn is the best platform to use. This is where professionals, managers and brand owners primarily stay.

Paid ads are a good “add”

While organic posts can get your brand a long reach, investing in paid advertising can get you further on the map.

Paid ads ensure high visibility among your target audience in less time, this works by specifically targeting your target customers. Paid ads allow you to reach relevant visitors who are interested in your brand, fit the demographics of your sales persona and reside in the exact geographic location you want to target.

Paid ads also make tracking your ROI easier.  For example, on Facebook, this information is built directly into its Ads Manager platform, making it possible to view your budget’s performance and analyze return on ad spend (ROAS), cost per website purchase, cost per lead and much more at a quick glance.

To deliver optimum results, you can start your paid ads process through A/B testing. A/B testing helps you determine which content is suited for a specific market segment.

For instance, one of Obra Digital’s long-time clients, Primelife Wellness – an organic health and wellness brand- utilized ad boosting effectively. 

We ran ads throughout the month of October 2021. 

The results? 551 inquiries and the cost per result went down to as low as P18 per message.

Content is indeed KING!

Producing content is a vital and crucial step in your social media strategy plan. Successful brands know how to portray their visions into meaningful and relevant content. For many brands, content is the most important asset.

While promotional content can go further for your brand, your content should keep up with the trends while still evoking your brand voice. You have to create a proper content marketing strategy and then start sharing content through your company social media accounts to engage the audience and make them purchase.

For instance, if you have a skincare brand, don’t just create promotional content. Dabble in your customers’ interests and questions. Perhaps you can create content on “how to achieve glass skin”, “debunking SPF myths” and even “BTS content on how your product is made.”

Organizing and scheduling your post is also a smart strategy. This can help you monitor content and even repurpose your archived content. Choosing the right content management system can go a long way.

For instance, we at Obra Digital, have made content for many brands and businesses. 

From a health and wellness brand, travel and tours agency and even a law firm, Obra Digital strives to create meaningful content for several lines of business. 

Here’s some of our accomplished work.

Conclusion: Thinking of adding Social Media Marketing on your Business Strategy?

Overall, social media marketing can help you navigate the tides of the competitive business world. Social media marketing has been proven to boost sales, improve brand awareness, create connections among customers and even help you have an edge over your competitors.

We, at Obra Digital, have helped many brands reach their goals through our Social Media Management Service. Want to give it a try?

 

Click on the link to start your SMM Plan.

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