A.K.A. how to use social media to grow your business

Social media has become a platform where everyone meets. Think of it like going to the mall with your product and everyone is around you. Social media sites, like Facebook or Twitter, is a vast platform with limitless possibilities for your business to grow and expand.

However, just like the mall, you can’t just shout random passages and expect people to buy your product. In social media, your post can be anytime and anywhere but it would not generate the right engagements, which are likes and shares. Having these engagements means people are relating to your product or service.

If they like it, the post will drive them to your site or your page and would be able to check on your products. From there, your followers may become customers and might drive sales on what you are selling. This is social media marketing.

Sounds easy, right?

However, you are not going to be the only business to do social media marketing. There are hundreds, or even thousands, of brands who will be competing at this place just like in a mall. According to top influencer Neil Patel, there are 1.5 billion active users in 2015 alone, and that Facebook population is bigger than the most populated country in the world.

So, what does a really successful social media marketing looks like? It can be anything. But this does not mean that the success is as abstract as what could work. Here are a few lessons you should take note as you start your social media marketing strategy.

Know your analytics.

Apart from having everyone on social media sites, another thing why businesses are also trying to test social media marketing is because of the data they get from these platforms. Through various analytical tools, it can be easier to know what the audience wants or what the customers are interested in. The skills in reading these analytics will help you better understand what’s working with your plan. It will also come in handy when trying to get more partners to team up with your brand.

Identify your objectives.

What do you want to achieve? This is where you start building your plan. Identify the current situation and the objectives that will guide you in your strategy. With these goals, you will be able to identify your return of investment. The analytics that you currently have will be your base metrics. These base metrics will be your point of comparison as your social media marketing plan progress. In setting these objectives, don’t just keep your focus on your product but also on your customers, as well.

According to Hootsuite, you can use the S.M.A.R.T. Framework. This means your goals should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Determine what’s working for you.

According to Patel, there 200 existing social media network, each with its own function and specialization. For example, Twitter is part of the social streams-type of social media platform, while LinkedIn is part of the business-type. You should know if the social media platform that you will be using is fit for your audience or where your target customers really are staying.

If you are targeting millennials who are currently working, you might want to consider LinkedIn or Twitter. If it is your goal to raise brand awareness, you can use Facebook. Each of these networks are social concentrations of their own so you should be wise on where to put your efforts.

Build from what works.

You don’t have to start from scratch. You can build from what is already tested and what went well with the audiences that you are targeting. Build an identity that resonates well with your audience and speak to them where they can understand. There are a lot of social media marketing strategies out there that reached, if not overreached, their objectives and goals.

Test, test, and test.

Last is to know that not all social media marketing strategies would work on the first time. Behind every successful campaigns are also stories of failed attempts. Start small and experiment. If it works, then build again something larger for your audience. If not, keep on navigating the waters or maybe try getting outside of your social network.