Social Media Strategies to Follow so You Do Not Waste Your Money or Time
When my daughter was 2-year-old we went shopping at Nordstrom. As we walked through the shoe section, she grabbed one of the designer shoes and had to walk around in them. Initially the mortifying embarrassing moment turned cute as I snapped a picture, posted it on Facebook and tagged Nordstrom, “Thanks for letting my daughter play dress up”. In less than 1 hour, Nordstrom commented back on my post. This is social media relationship building, and it does wonders to create loyalty for the consumer and business.
Some of the best social media strategies involve this type of relationship-based marketing. According to SproutSocial, business’ need to do more of what Nordstrom is doing…. Listen for customers just mentioning your product or offering positive comments and acknowledge them with a response. Ta-da, you have now built trust and brand loyalty which is just 1 ingredient for winning in your social media strategy.
Business’ must also be on multiple platforms, sometimes utilizing the platforms differently with individual content. For instance, Gary Vaynerchuck notes Instagram images should not be polished and more focused on being personal (like chasing your kid running up the stairs with your red lipstick). Whereas Facebook is about a grabbing image with a short amount of text that has information people will care about. Twitter is used by some companies as their customer service platform. GIF’s also do really well on this platform with a 55% increase in engagement. While hashtags and images are all beneficial, the number 1 type of post is a video.
Smartphones make it easier than ever to make quick videos that market followers in entreating ways. Influencers can try on sunglasses in a 30 second clip, with tags to buy the product. It is no wonder that 88% of marketers are satisfied with their ROI. But show and tell product videos are not the only successful videos. Remember how we started with building a relationship. Customers want live streaming question and answer sessions (perfect for explaining the best makeup remover to get red lipstick off the walls)! Followers want to see what goes on behind the scenes, maybe help pick what new products to carry in a store. Keep building that relationship, if you don’t, they may leave, off to a greener pasture where they relate and bond to another company’s social media posts.
Creating content can be daunting, unless businesses utilize a content calendar. However, when social issues or natural disasters arise, pause the content calendar (no one really wants to see a lip gloss ad on their news feed during the George Floyd protests). Companies should utilize this time to take a stand on social issues. Do not ignore what is going on in the world, rather, be part of the community. Taking sides in a respectful way will allow followers to know more about your brand and what you offer to the world. If you don’t, part of that loyalty that you worked so hard to gain, will disintegrate.
While social media is social, relationship building at its core, that is not the only strategy for a successful campaign. A company has to start out with its SMART goal. Without one you have no idea what you ar trying to measure while you waste time and money with aimless posts. Know your audience (if they are all in Florida they don’t need to know about a snowblower, but hurricane proof shutters would be great)! Follow your competition, and learn what they are doing correct and what is not working. If photo posts showcasing family baking time gets little interaction compared to videos, make a note in order to set yourself up for success. Otherwise, you make the same mistake and will be stagnant with your growth while missing an opportunity to bond and be entertaining to your followers. Preform a social media audit so you know what is working for you. Don’t just go through the motions to have a presence on social media. Build the loyalty, give followers the entertainment that they want, or they will leave and your ROI drops.
Social media is to be social. Two way communication, don’t just spit information out. Give followers what they want while building a loyal relationship. Remember it costs five times as much to earn a new customer than it does to retain an existing one.
