These days, there’s no excuse for not including social media in your broader marketing strategy. It is important to have a presence on social media for many reasons, including establishing brand awareness, generating leads and growing your customer base.
We’ve got a few hot tips that you can start implementing right now to help take your social media marketing to the next level.
Know your audience
Have you ever asked yourself who your social media audience is? While your existing clientele certainly make up part of your audience, who else is out there following you and engaging with your posts?
Most social media platforms provide free analytics tools for business accounts. Use insight tools on Facebook and Instagram to discover exactly who your online audience is, then create content that you know they’ll engage with. For example, if you want to share memes targeted towards a Gen Z audience, but your insights tell you that the majority of your audience falls in the 25 to 45 year age bracket, you may need to reassess your content strategy accordingly!
By analysing your social media insights, you can learn how old your audience is, where they come from, when they’re online and much more!
Share content consistently
No one wants to follow a page on social media that only shares content once in a blue moon. Keep your followers wanting more by posting consistently. This can be easily managed by creating a social media calendar where you can map out your content, right down to the day and time it should be posted.
Using a social media content calendar will help you to post on your social channels on a regular basis and in turn will help you grow your audience!
Engage with your social media community
An overwhelming amount of businesses forget that social media is supposed to be a two-way street. If a customer (or potential customer) comments on one of your posts, the polite thing to do is reply, even if it’s just to say thank you!
Block off some time every day to go through your social media notifications and respond to each and every comment you get. This could be done in between appointments or first thing in the morning! When you reply, it can be a simple thank you or a more detailed response, depending on the comment itself.
If you’ve got a lot of followers, it can be difficult to keep up with all your comments, likes and shares, but taking the time to engage with your online community on a regular basis will go a long way.
Take advantage of social media influencers
2019 was definitely the year of the social media influencer, and it looks like they’re here to stay. Do some research to discover influencers in your local area and reach out to them for collaboration. Depending on their social media following, this could involve free services in exchange for content, or you may have to pay them to post.
Don’t underestimate the power of influencers, and make sure to include influencer marketing spend as part of your budget for the year. Sometimes all it takes is one post from a popular influencer for your salon, spa or clinic to blow right up!
Run a social media contest
If you’re looking for a fun, easy way to gain followers, increase engagement and reach and attract potential new customers, look no further than a social media contest!
Running a contest on social media doesn’t have to be hard. Sometimes the simplest contest can bring the highest return! Consider running a giveaway asking people to follow your page and tag a friend in order to enter the contest. This will help boost your engagement as well as potentially attract new customers.
Make sure to also keep up to date with the most recent rules and regulations for running contests on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
With social media, a little bit can go a long way, and the sooner you start the sooner you’ll be able to see the effect. Start with a plan, stick to it, and see where it takes you.
